This has been discussed at length on HN and elsewhere, but there definitely is a real estate problem in SF. Average height of buildings in the downtown area and the like are _much_ lower than they could be (earthquake arguments are bunk, see Tokyo).
The politics behind this is absolutely terrible zoning regulations in the US that make mixed-use zoning difficult, and the fact that people own their houses, and don't want to see the value go down. So basically rent seekers.
The politics behind this is absolutely terrible zoning regulations in the US that make mixed-use zoning difficult, and the fact that people own their houses, and don't want to see the value go down. So basically rent seekers.