YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN

@investmenttakes

100.6K followers · usually 48.8K views a post

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213.2K

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12.4K

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Why it worked

The video taps into a highly contentious and relatable issue (housing affordability and NIMBYism) by presenting a viral image and contrasting viewpoints, framing the debate around the core concept of 'character' which resonates with people's emotional connection to their neighborhoods.

Summary

The video discusses the controversy surrounding housing development in San Francisco, highlighting how local opposition, often framed around preserving neighborhood character, prevents new construction despite high demand. It contrasts this with European cities that prioritize historical preservation and questions whether such arguments in San Francisco are genuine concerns or merely excuses to block development.

Structure

1Introduction to the viral photo of San Francisco homeowners protesting new apartments.
2Explanation of the housing crisis and the public reaction to the photo.
3Presentation of opposing viewpoints: one calling homeowners selfish, another calling them self-destructive.
4Discussion of the 'character' argument used to block development in desirable areas like the Marina.
5Comparison to European cities that protect historical character.
6Conclusion that the 'character' argument is often an excuse to block development, and the debate boils down to whether a place is truly special or just resistant to change.

Product placement

X.com (appears as a watermark on tweets, does not act, removing it would not change the video) .com (appears as a watermark on tweets, does not act, removing it would not change the video)

Original caption

People in San Francisco are paying strangers thousands just to find an apartment. So why is a whole neighborhood fighting to block 848 new homes? It comes down to one word behind every housing fight in America. #housing #realestate #finance

More from @investmenttakes

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On-screen text

YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN THIS PHOTO OF OLDER SAN FRANCISCO HOMEOWNERS PACKED INTO A TOWN HALL TO FIGHT 848 NEW APARTMENTS IN A CITY WHERE PEOPLE LITERALLY CAN'T FIND A PLACE TO LIVE IT GOT 10 MILLION VIEWS ON X AND ALMOST EVERYONE Piled ON OF OLD PEOPLE THAT DON'T WANT YOUNG PEOPLE TO HAVE AFFORDABLE Housing ONE GUY SAID JUST AN ASTOUNDINGLY SELF DESTRUCTIVE AND SELFISH GENERATION ANOTHER GUY ADDED THE COMMENTERS WERE BASICALLY IMPLYING THAT THESE WERE RICH BOOMERS BLOCKING NEW HOUSING SO NOBODY ELSE CAN MOVE IN REAL TRUTH TO SAN FRANCISCO IS MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES AND IT'S FOR REASON OF DEMAND AND ALMOST NOTHING NEW ALMOST NOTHING NEW GETS BUILT A BIG PART OF WHY NOTHING GETS BUILT IS EXACTLY THIS ROOMS FULL OF SHOWING UP TO KILL ANY NEW PROJECT THAT COMES SO IT'S EASY PEOPLE OUT TO BE VILLAINS WRITE THEM OFF COMPLETELY THEIR SIDE IS WORTH HEARING IT ALL COMES WORD YOU HEAR IN EVERY ONE OF THESE FIGHTS CHARACTER ONE OF THE LOWEST PRETTIEST PARTS OF SAN FRANCISCO WHAT THEY WANT IS TWO TOWERS EACH AROUND 250 IN A SPOT WHERE ALMOST EVERYTHING AROUND THEM IS STORIES SO THE ARGUMENT BE CHANGING THE ENTIRE FEEL OF OF THE NICEST STRETCHES OF SAN FRANCISCO AND HONESTLY THAT ARGUMENT ISN'T CRAZY SOME PLACES REALLY ARE WORTH PROTECTING EXACTLY AS THEY HALE OF EUROPE IS BUILT AROUND THAT IDEA THERE ARE WHOLE WHERE YOU LEGALLY CAN'T THROW UP A GLASS TOWER BECAUSE THEY DECIDED OF THE PLACE MATTERS MORE THAN SQUEEZING IN A FEW EXTRA BUILDINGS NOW OF COURSE THAT IS EVERYBODY THINKS THAT THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD IS THE SECOND ANYBODY WANTS TO BUILD ANYTHING AMERICA SUDDENLY TURNS INTO A HISTORIC SACRED TREASURE AND IF THE CHARACTER ARGUMENT DOESN'T WORK PEOPLE USE OTHER LIKE HOW A DEVELOPMENT IS BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT OR THAT IT'LL OVERWHELM THE INFRASTRUCTURE SOMETIMES THOSE CONCERNS BUT A LOT THEY'RE JUST EXCUSES TO BLOCK NEW DEVELOPMENT SO THE HONEST EVERY ONE OF THESE FIGHTS CHARACTER GENUINELY SPECIAL ENOUGH TO PROTECT LIKE OR IS IT NEIGHBORHOOD THAT DOESN'T WANT TO CHANGE THAT LINE IN A DIFFERENT PLACE BUT SOMEBODY HAS SO WHAT DO OFTEN IS A PLACE TOO SPECIAL TO CHANGE AND HOW OFTEN AN EXCUSE THAT PEOPLE USE NEIGHBORHOODS EXACTLY THE IN THE COMMENTS AND FOLLOW FOR THIS

Transcript

You've probably seen this photo of older San Francisco homeowners packed into a town hall to fight 848 new apartments in a city where people literally can't find a place to live. It got 10 million views on X and almost everyone piled on of old people that don't want young people to have affordable housing. One guy said, "Just an astoundingly self-destructive and selfish generation." Another guy added, "The commenters were basically implying that these were rich boomers blocking new housing so nobody else can move in." There's some real truth to San Francisco is one of the most expensive cities on Earth and it's for a pretty simple reason. There's a ton of demand and almost nothing new gets built. A big part of why nothing gets built is exactly this. Rooms full of people showing up to kill any new project that comes along. So it's easy to make these people out to be villains. But before you write them off completely, their side is worth hearing. You see, it all comes down to one word you hear in every one of these fights: character. The Marina is one of the lowest prettiest parts of San Francisco. What they want to build here is two towers, each around 250 feet tall in a spot where almost everything around them is just a few stories. So the argument would be changing the entire feel of one of the nicest stretches of San Francisco. And honestly, that argument isn't crazy. Some places really are worth protecting exactly as they are. Half of Europe is built around that idea. There are whole city centers where you legally can't throw up a glass tower because they decided the character of the place matters more than squeezing in a few extra buildings. Now, of course, that is everybody thinks that their neighborhood is the second anybody wants to build anything, America suddenly turns into a historic sacred treasure. And if the character argument doesn't work, people use other ones, like how development is bad for the environment or that it'll overwhelm the infrastructure. Sometimes those concerns are real, but a lot of the time they're just excuses to block new development. So the honest debate and almost one of these fights comes back to character. Is this place genuinely special enough to protect like Rome? Or is it a nice neighborhood that doesn't want to change? That line in a different place. But somebody has. So what do you think? How often is a place too special to change and how often is it an excuse that people use to keep their neighborhoods exactly the way they are? Let me know in the comments and follow for videos like this.