Prison Or A Mixed Use Community?

The needs of prison expansion are pitted against demand for housing.

1 minute read

November 13, 2004, 1:00 PM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


San Quentin is California's oldest and most notorious prison. Faced with growing condemned inmate numbers and crumbling walls, the state has been struggling with proposals to build new and safer prison cells.

However, San Quentin's location -- just north of San Francisco presents challenges. It is not only close to the courts where many of these inmates lawyers work, but also some of the most valuable real estate in California.

Proposals have been made to relocate all the inmates from San Quentin so that that prison can be torn down and the land developed for housing, but local neighbors are more wary of those impacts than living next to the inmates.

Thanks to Rush Wickes

Friday, November 12, 2004 in The San Francisco Chronicle

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