It's been well documented that San Francisco has few households with children, and locals know that schools are closing because of declining enrollment. Yet pre-schoolers are on the rise -- why are families leaving the city before kindergarten?
"Between 2000 and 2004, there was a steady rise in the proportion of city residents who were younger than 5, U.S. census data show. Yet these mini-baby boomers are not showing up in kindergarten; instead, school enrollment is slipping, and the city's school-age population is sliding. Families are leaving the city when their children reach school age. What's driving them away?
It's the housing prices. It's the desire for a backyard. San Francisco's real estate market, where suburban-size houses with backyards are uncommon and extremely expensive, is the reason most parents give for moving away. They are drawn to Bay Area suburbs within commute range, or they leave the region entirely.
Only an estimated 12 percent of San Francisco households earn enough to buy a median-price home, which costs more than $760,000, according to the California Association of Realtors and DataQuick Information Systems.
Some of the families leaving could well afford San Francisco prices, said Dona Crowder, recent past president of the San Francisco Association of Realtors. But these buyers are dissatisfied with city schools and say they can't afford a house and private school."
Read the full story: Lots of toddlers, fewer school-age kids in S.F.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Nation's most wind-powered state turns to coal as data centers increase energy demand
For the first time in decades, Iowa has increased its generation of coal power.
NYC cools commuters with city's first rain garden above a bus stop
New York City officials say the plants in the rain garden can absorb 16 gallons of rainwater during heavy storms.
Brightline West’s future may rely on $6 billion federal loan
The company has until Nov. 2 to make a $400 million equity investment into its proposed high-speed rail line.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association