San Francisco's Anti-Displacement Movement: Progressives Against Progress?

The tech industry's push into San Francisco has entailed a fight for political and cultural legitimacy as well as social justice--one that shakes up conventional wisdom about conservatism, progressivism, and progress itself.

1 minute read

August 2, 2014, 1:00 PM PDT

By Zelda Bronstein


The flood of tech companies and their employees--at the end of 2013, San Francisco had 53,000 tech jobs, over triple the number in 2004--has spiked property values and rents: these days, San Francisco's housing is the costliest in the U.S.

That mounting costliness has occasioned massive displacements and lively protests.

The blockades of the "Google" buses have garnered worldwide attention, but it's the less showy city's tenants movement that has become a major force in San Francisco politics.

At the same time, the anti-displacement movement is unsettling assumptions about left and right.

The opponents of displacement, arguing from the left, which customarily identifies itself as the party of progress, are denounced as reactionary and insular--and not just by apologists for big business.

Meanwhile, the tech industry is hailed as the truly progressive force in town.

"This ideological churn," writes Zelda Bronstein, "embodies profound yet elusive shifts in historical consciousness" that are thrown "into high relief" by "the discord roiling San Francisco."

Examining arguments from both sides, Bronstein suggests that we need to rethink the relationship between technological change and democracy--and the meaning of progress.

Monday, August 4, 2014 in The Nation

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

2 hours ago - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

4 hours ago - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

6 hours ago - InTransition Magazine