apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I wish I could. All I'm smelling right now is smog while driving around looking for a new apartment. Apartment hunting should be exciting, not a bummer. Damn you, LA! ;-)

The reek of the unwashed homeless is in the air here. In a masterpiece of bad urban design, the city got the bright idea of putting portable metal fence-like police barriers against the walls of buildings on my block, presumably to prevent street people from leaning on the walls.

The street people now use the barriers to cordon off permanent resting and storage areas, so there are more of them, and they're here more of the time, with more of their stuff. As creative re-use, it's stunning. As a success of the Newsom administration's efforts to do something about homelessness, it's not precisely encouraging.

The unending, unsolvable problem of the homeless. Did you read the article in the chron about temporary emergency housing? From time to time creative architects propose various attractive and/or inexpensive solutions which are never attempted either because of bureaucratic inertia or misplaced altruism or disdain. I recall one solution which proposed small box-like structures which were large enough to hold one person and belongings. It could be locked and a number of them could be positioned to form a small, stable encampment with one structure for cold showers and toilets. The advocates for the homeless said they were too much like dog houses and therefore lacking dignity. The "NIMBY crowd didn't like them because the homeless might feel entitled and would be much more difficult to move away, Result? The homeless can have their dignity while sleeping in bedrolls in Civic Center and they can be moved from time to time so that they don't bother the Opera and symphony crowd (of which I am one).

Yes, I saw both suggestions at their various times!

A row of little huts would be a vast improvement over the current state of my street. The same people are camped on the corner every day anyway -- at least giving them little huts would be tidy.

I keep wondering what design smells like!

Hey all. I'm working on the new Curbed SF (click on my name) and wanted to let you all know about the launch. Wende if you can, take a picture of the metal barriers and send it to me, maybe we can post something about it. And if anyone hears of any ridiculous, interesting, funny, or exciting new real estate development, restaruants, or neighborhood happenings in SF or the Bay Area, send us tips!