A very interesting article on growth. It is a complex issue. I think this article by Justin Fox explains the issue very well.
“…a San Francisco that makes room for a few hundred thousand more tech workers will no longer be the same shabbily welcoming city “that’s been a magnet for free spirits and immigrants and working-class people for decades.. Then again, “free spirits and immigrants and working-class people” can’t afford to move to San Francisco now anyway — it’s only the ones who managed to get their hands on a rent-controlled apartment years ago who can afford to stay. Here’s Sonja Trauss, a former math teacher and economics graduate student who recently founded the pro-growth San Francisco Bay Area Renters Federation:
The past is not an option. Going forward we can become either a big city, or else a highly exclusive gated community for the rich. For homeowners this is an academic question, because as owners, nothing can make them move. For renters and all new entrants (your children) this question is over whether we live in the Bay Area or not. There are 2x as many people who want to live here than do live here. The current “character” of SF isn’t very useful to people who can’t live here.”