The super-gentrification from San Francisco to the South Bay

This is a difficult subject to delve into because it’s tied to so many other issues—past and present—each with its own legitimate “bottom line.” Many people are simply incapable of compartmentalizing each sub-issue for critical review… after which all of the parts need to be put back together for a final conclusion. The only overwhelming “bottom line” that I can think of is that if we look at our particular local gentrification from 1990 to 2030, literally millions of local residents will have been forced to relocate out of necessity. Some have been referring to this as the issue of “the right to replace.”

We’re not talking about someone taking over a neighborhood or even a city, but of an area of at least 2,000 square miles as the epicenter of a particularly ruthless gentrification. This isn’t “urban renewal,” as it very dramatically affects a large diverse area and every citizen in it. Even the despotic robber barons of history at least allowed their subjects a place to dwell. The newly formed economic-establishment simply want local residents out... period! A portion of the highest socio-economic classes of the old order have even issued complaints for various reasons. We’re living amid a massive social and economic upheaval; and also political, as we witness even San Francisco politicians welcoming the extreme replacement and change over their own long-time constituency.

Like any well-organized colonization, this region has even been renamed… “Silicon Valley”… after what had long been merely a nickname for the technology industry in the South Bay. HBO even produces a series called ‘Silicon Valley’, which I am not familiar with, but what appears to be about IT hipsters; Fabian capitalists in sandals, urban cowboys conquering a new frontier. So, what does that make us? Indians? For every action (mass migration), there’s an opposite re-action (replacement). In many ways, this harsh fact is how humans have interacted for thousands of years; but at least then the aggressors were open about their intentions… such as ‘The Indian Removal Act’. With us, there is neither a name for our ouster or even much complaint from us; just a slow moving push out the door.

The first that I ever really pondered this subject was in the late 90s, when a company which I was working for was closing down the location due to a buyout. One couple, in their late forties, had worked there as well. He worked in the warehouse, while she worked in the office. On the final day, as I spoke to the very down-to-earth couple in the parking lot on that warm late summer evening, they told me that they were moving to Georgia where he had family. San Mateo County had gotten too expensive, and the surrounding area was going the same way. They left, and in some small way, we became metaphorically poorer as a result. I can recall back in the 70s and 80s when the South Bay was booming. New residents migrated in from many places. It was an exciting time then. The growth seemed large, but was not overwhelming. It didn’t hurt the agricultural industry, which has much room to fan out. The new residents were a positive influence.

The only real plus for the locals is if they happen to own a real estate. In the town of Burlingame, for example, a small two-bedroom home is now worth about 200 times what it probably was worth in the 50s… where a barber or a warehouseman could purchase it on one-income. This home equity serves as our only symbolic severance pay for our collective eviction. According to HUD, you should not pay any more than 30% of your net income on rent; which would mean that in order to pay even the bare minimum rent anywhere in San Mateo County and maintain that 30%, a person would need to net about $5,700 a month. Even if a local wished to stay anyway because they can afford it, do you really want to live in a rootless place where you’re the dinosaur? Where are YOU from?

I say this also for people in New York City or any place where a local population has been given their subtle “walking papers” by out-of-towners who want them out… starting yesterday. There’s no comparison between someone simply moving to a new location, and a person with one particular skill set who believes that everything in the world… belongs to them. You can’t resist the whole country when word has gotten out that your backyard is “the place to be!” Nobody can. Of course, they wouldn’t like it if it happened where they're from. It’s like abortion; it’s okay as long as it’s not YOU. I’m not a fan of Spike Lee, but he’s correct about gentrification, such as in regards to a place like Harlem… which is a new hipster paradise. Of course, an entire component to all of this—which is best looked upon as a separate issue—is that many now doing the complaining, sprang from people who got where they are through large-scale demographic change aka “replacement.” Still, that’s a separate issue, and doesn’t make them wrong.

Some individuals of great wealth who have relocated here, then have become “zero-growth” advocates and “open-space" proponents the moment they get here! Before we pat them on the back “at least for that,” many of them are the types who buy up land along the coast or in the many unspoiled areas of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and then block off access to the general public. In other words, under normal conditions, those locations would have largely remained public property in the first place. Still, the great majority are pro-urban sprawl via gentrification. The South Bay will then go into a mode of “ever-expansion outward!”; such as with the Los Angeles Basin. The only reason that the Bay Area has so many open spaces is through the work of a lot of good people over the decades. That is about to change.

Many newcomers of this new-guard will make their buck and then go back “home” again… having forever changed our world. This whole “happening” is the biggest joke… because its foundation rests upon an open secret: They need us out. There’s no way around that fact. Even local retired homeowners, who normally would have remained here, are now given this very lucrative option of selling high and buying low somewhere else. Although this is a great opportunity for them, it further dismantles local roots by breaking down its organic pillars.

What can one say when even upper middle class neighborhoods are being gentrified? San Mateo County was one of the wealthiest counties in the whole country before 1990! Some years ago, a South Bay student who had been away to college, came home to discover the tremendous changes which had taken place in just several years. He produced a documentary about it, of which the name escapes me. However, somehow this all seems so contrived; beyond the typical “change and progress” line that is always fed to society. It’s a feeding frenzy… on our watch. I know of what was once a very beautiful open-space area, amid a nice tree-filled South Bay neighborhood, with wonderful views of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Nothing over three stories high. In the course of about five years, all of it was gone except the official park itself. Skyscrapers now block out the view of the mountains, the once open area along the creek is lost amid a new concrete jungle, and when walking through you always have that feeling of "being watched" with thousands of windows peering down at you. Contrived over-development can sometimes be a downright backward and primitive thing to do. This development is entirely out-of-scale in relation to the surrounding area. Total ruination.

Strangely, local police often favor the newcomers; usually by picking on automobiles which aren’t consistent with the new-guard, and asking “what are you doing down here?”… and followed by “why can’t you do those things up there?”… even if you’re three miles away in the next town over where you live, and you grew up in the area anyway. This is based on the experiences of many individuals, including myself. I was pulled over for no reason on one occasion, and they asked to search my car. Usually they don’t bother asking, so I agreed. This particular officer opened my trunk where I had tools and debris from building a fence for someone. I observed the officer with amusement as he was looking very closely at simple tools, such as a wrench, as though he were examining ancient artifacts. WOW!! If that isn’t a perfect metaphor for what’s been happening, I don’t know what is! Just for the record, as we should acknowledge, police departments vary vastly from city to city. The police are simply a reflection of their superiors. I learned this when a few years ago I went into a building on a local community college campus where there was a police training academy. As I walked in dressed in a coat and tie from a job interview I just had… the cadets walking in the hallway immediately lined up against the walls and saluted me. That… kind’ve says it all.

There are numerous once-major cultural groupings long predating World War II, whom contributed greatly to the local area, which have been massively pushed aside for at least thirty years even before this super-gentrification period. Cisalpines/Italians, Japanese, Irish, Scottish, Croatians, Slovenians, Russians/Ukrainians, Maltese, Portuguese, Germans, Oklahoma-north Texas migratory descendants, etc. This often difficult-to-define umbrella-grouping contributed more overall to local history, culture, free market, self-determinism, and in terms of spirituality--much more-so than those who followed; yet they’re never discussed, spoken of, or referred to in any way in public affairs. They exist only in the abstract: “North Beach” or “Japanese Gardens.” It’s just a perception that there are “Italians in North Beach.” If you don’t officially exist, then any concerns which you may have probably aren’t likely to exist either.

I know so many of you feel the same way, because you’ve told me so time and time again. I’m just defining the entire scope of what you have collectively told me. There are endless examples of where the rootless have defeated local cultures over the years. These socio-economic interests are just the latest in a long line. There was an equally disturbing socio-political migration that was endured for such a long time. Again, these examples are not the same as someone merely moving to a new location. What I’m referring to are people who come in for practically the expressed purpose of taking over, and they need and fully expect us to get out of the way for them. There are many huge corporations which have entire departments dedicated to “finding housing” for incoming employees; including purchasing real estate. Although it sounds almost innocent, this places further stress on the limited opportunities on real estate and housing for locals. They need us out, plain and simple. They know this, we know this, and they know that we know this.


6-10-15 ADDITION:

I wanted to add this thoughtful article from the American Sociological Association, entitled 'Understanding Super-Gentrification in San Francisco' (John Stover - University of San Francisco - April 2014). Actually, I didn't get the term "super-gentrification," from this piece, but maybe I heard of it somewhere.

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"6 Californias" initiative quietly moving foreward - Part 1

California split: Petition to break state into 6 garners over 800,000 signatures

RT.com - July 15, 2014
 
Backers of the ‘Six Californias’ plan say they have obtained enough signatures to prompt a referendum on carving up the most populous US state. Campaign leaders claim the split would remedy many problems by creating more effective local governments.

Campaign spokesperson Roger Salazar said the ‘Six Californias’ plan has gained over the 808,000 signatures necessary to include the issue in a 2016 ballot. The idea would be to split the world’s eighth-largest economy geographically into Jefferson, North California, Silicon Valley, Central California, West California and South California.

"It’s important because it will help us create a more responsive, more innovative and more local government, and that ultimately will end up being better for all of Californians," said Salazar on Monday in a statement.

Campaign organizers plan to submit the petition in Sacramento on Tuesday to set the wheels in motion for a 2016 vote. The initiative was dreamt up by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper who believes that “with Six Californias, we can refresh our government."

The billionaire, who made his money investing in internet startups like Skype and Hotmail, has shelled out almost $2 million in his own money to help fund the campaign.

“Six Californias is our opportunity to solve the many problems we face today. Six Californias gives us an opportunity to create a better future for all 38 million of us,” said a campaign statement on Monday.

Critics have slammed the plan as a waste of time and money and maintain that it will actually worsen California’s most pressing problems.

 

"This is a colossal and divisive waste of time, energy, and money that will hurt the California brand,” Steven Maviglio, a Democratic political strategist who has formed the group OneCalifornia with GOP strategist Joe Rodota to fight Draper’s plan, told Reuters.

A Field Poll carried out in February of this year showed that 59 percent of Californians were opposed to the idea of breaking up their state. However, even if the campaigners manage to boost the popularity of their initiative, they will still face the major obstacle of winning the approval of both Congress and the State Legislature.

Draper has accepted that the vote is a “long shot,” but claims that he can convince people that a change is necessary for the state with the “worst-managed government in the country.”

Six Californias on Twitter

Six Californias? The Nation’s Biggest Potential Breakup (Josh Jones; The Stanford Review; February 10, 2014)

Six Californias (Wikipedia)

SixCalifornias.com

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Federico Faggin

Designer Behind the World's First Microprocessor

Intel YouTube Channel - September 27, 2011

Federico Faggin visited Intel headquarters in late summer of 2011 to share memories from 40 years ago, when teamed up with Ted Hoff and Stan Mazur to create Intel's 4004 chip, which became the world's first single chip microprocessor.

Faggin talks about the day in January 1971, when he first tested the chip and it worked flawlessly. That was the day the microprocessor was born, he says, and today it is at the heart of the Internet revolution. He says the microprocessor has become the tiny speck of intelligence that converges communication, computing and control capabilities, connecting all of our devices from computers to small smartphones.

He has his eye on quantum computing as the next frontier of computing because of potential is beyond what capable with today's mechanical microprocessors. Yet he believes computing will never rival the complexity and capabilities on human intelligence.

Excerpt from Federico Faggin Wikipedia page:

Born in Vicenza, Federico Faggin received a Laurea Degree in physics, summa cum laude, at the University of Padua, Italy. At age 19, after his graduation from technical high school A. Rossi (Vicenza), he took a job at Olivetti, in Italy, where he co-designed and led the implementation of a small computer. After obtaining his university degree he worked at SGS Fairchild in Italy, where he developed SGS's first MOS process technology and designed its first integrated circuits. In 1968 he moved to Palo Alto and worked at Fairchild Semiconductor, where he created the MOS Silicon Gate technology with self-aligned gate, the basis of all modern CMOS computer chips. At Fairchild he produced the world's first commercial integrated circuit using Silicon Gate Technology with self aligned MOS transistors: the Fairchild 3708.

In 1970 he joined Intel where Marcian (Ted) Hoff, with Stanley Mazor and Intel's customer Masatoshi Shima, had formulated a new architecture for a family of Busicom calculators in 1969. Federico Faggin was hired as project leader to implement such architecture, which had been idling for many months. He created a new methodology for random logic chip design using silicon gate technology, and several design innovations that made it possible to fit the microprocessor in one chip. He developed the chip and logic design together with the layout of all the chips of the 4004 family (MCS-4). He built the tester to prove that the 4004 could be used for applications different from calculators, and successfully transferred the first microprocessor to production (1970–1971). During the project development he was assisted only by Masatoshi Shima, who had come from Japan to check on the progress and stayed-on to help, and a couple of technicians. Faggin also convinced Bob Noyce to negotiate the exclusivity clause, in order to open the marketing of the 4004 which originally was a custom design for Busicom.

The design methodology created by Faggin was utilized for the implementation of all Intel’s early microprocessors and later also for Zilog's Z80. The 8008 development was originally assigned to Hal Feeney in March 1970 but was suspended until the 4004 was completed. It was resumed in January 1971 and Hal Feeney did the detailed design under Faggin’s direction and following his new methodology. Faggin developed the architectures and led the development of the 8080 and the 4040 microprocessors. When Faggin left Intel at the end of 1974 to found Zilog with Ralph Ungermann, he was department manager for MOS Research and Development with almost 80 engineers reporting to him and more than a dozen products under development.

Zilog was the first company entirely dedicated to microprocessors while Intel was principally dedicated to memories. At Zilog, Faggin conceived the architecture of the Z80 microprocessor and helped Shima, who had joined the new company, in its design. He was Zilog's President and CEO until the end of 1980. In 1982, he co-founded Cygnet Technologies, Inc., maker of the Cygnet CoSystem personal telecommunications device, and was President and CEO of the company until 1986. In 1986 he co-founded and was CEO of Synaptics a company which produces the most widely used touchpad in the industry. He is presently CEO of Foveon Inc., a company making image sensors with a novel technology.

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Apple: Company Co-founder Steve Jobs Has Died

Apple says the company's co-founder Steve Jobs has died. He was 56. In a brief statement the company said Jobs died Wednesday. He had been battling pancreatic cancer.

Associated Press YouTube channel - October 5, 2011

Actually, I thought the ABC News report was much better, but they don't allow embedding.

Apple Fans Mourn Steve Jobs's Death, Hold IPhone-Lit Vigils

San Francisco Chronicle - October 6, 2011

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. fans worldwide mourned the death of co-founder Steve Jobs, paying tribute to the man who changed the way they listen to music, use their mobile phones and play on their computers.

At Apple's headquarters -- located at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California -- flags flew at half-staff and bagpipes sounded to the tune of "Amazing Grace" as people placed flowers around a white iPad with a picture of Jobs, who died yesterday at 56, after a battle with cancer. Mourners flocked to Apple stores from New York to Hong Kong, while a crowd gathered in San Francisco's Mission Dolores Park for an iPhone-lit vigil.

"Part of the narrative that made Apple what it is today goes out with Steve Jobs," said Christopher Smith, 40, a former business development manager in San Francisco who joined the vigil. "I came out to honor the fact that one man with vision, courage and unwavering dedication can still change the world. The way that I communicate and the way that I interact with the world is through things that Steve jobs has created."

Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and Sony Corp. Chairman Howard Stringer were among business leaders who expressed admiration for the man who built the world's most valuable technology company. President Barack Obama also issued statements of sympathy and remembrance.

"Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs," Obama said in a statement. "Steve was among the greatest of American innovators -- brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it."

Jobs's Home

Teary-eyed mourners left flowers in front of Jobs's modest home at the corner of Waverly Street and Santa Rita Avenue in Palo Alto, California. Neighborhood children drew hearts with markers and left them on the ground for others to leave messages. Policemen stood watch, barricading the street.

"Here's a guy who's a billionaire and lives in a regular neighborhood, not behind a gated estate with all the security guards," said Bruce Gee, a former Apple employee who drove up to the house from his home a couple miles away. "On Halloween, people go trick or treating there like everyone else."

At the San Francisco Apple store near Union Square, Steve Streza, 24, stood holding an iPad displaying Apple's homepage image of Jobs and the words "Steve Jobs: 1955-2011."

'Regular Guy'

"Macs were the reason I got into product development," said Streza, a developer at readitlater.com who grew up with Mac computers. "If it weren't for Steve Jobs and Macs, my life would probably be in a completely different place right now."

Steve Somerstein, who says he met Jobs several times since 1986, recalled the time when he bumped into Jobs while apartment hunting in Palo Alto.

"He was just a regular guy," said Somerstein, who was at the Palo Alto store. "I congratulated him on the company and hoped it was going to do well. I didn't even own an Apple at that point. He was about 10 years younger than me and just a nice kid."

Ron Kent, a food-truck owner who was at the Palo Alto store, likened Jobs to Michelangelo, the renaissance-era artist who painted the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

"He's the visionary of our time," Kent said.

'RIP Steve Jobs'

Some mourned via social media sites. More than 20 "RIP Steve Jobs" pages sprung up on Facebook within hours of the announced passing of Jobs. News of Jobs's death slowed the mobile websites of CNN and the Washington Post, according to Keynote Systems Inc., which tracks website performance.

"Steve Jobs," the biography written by former Time magazine editor Walter Isaacson, scheduled for release Nov. 21, was the best seller on Amazon.com Inc.'s website.

In New York, Jared and Alexi Roth, 33 and 31, left two red apples by the wall outside the Apple store on Broadway in the Upper West Side.

"We were literally walking by a market on Broadway when Jared got a text saying Steve Jobs died," Alexi said. "We saw the apples and just thought it would be appropriate."

Across the ocean, Charanis Chiu, walked in front of the Apple store in Hong Kong to place a sunflower, the logo of the photo-viewing application on the iPhone.

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