There are now 1,700 technology companies based in San Francisco, a 30 percent jump from just two years ago. The tech boom has kept the unemployment rate well under the state average, and it’s brought a lot of tax revenue to the city. But has it come at a cost? Critics say the trend, and its accompanying high rents, is shutting out artists and the middle class and threatening the very soul of the city. San Francisco has long been embroiled in gentrification fights. How will it withstand this newest, biggest tech boom?
How Much Tech Can San Francisco Take?
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Guests:
David Talbot, founder and CEO of Salon.com, author of the article "How Much Tech Can One City Take?" in San Francisco Magazine and of the recent book, "Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love"
Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council, a regional business-sponsored public policy group
Debra Walker, artist, land use arts activist and building commissioner for the City of San Francisco
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