Conclusion

Abstract

This chapter argues that had political leaders and a broad coalition of interest groups truly wanted to heal both wounds from the postwar era—racialized segregation and environmental destruction—far more could have been done. The utterly broken politics of urbanization and development in the Bay Area became and remain a useful excuse from varying political sides, a way of abdicating responsibility in the face of history. Building a new, more unified politics of development will take time. It will require rethinking who plans and who is a planner, and the very role of urban development in the economy as a whole. It means abandoning some of the normative baggage with which places and housing choices are judged, and ensuring that everyone's place and everyone's home is as secure and risk-free as possible. It will also require a renewed commitment to combating exploitation in all aspects of metropolis-building.