Learning lessons from our US cousins

Brighton and Hove does not have a twin city.

But if it did, perhaps a good choice would be San Francisco.

With its coastal location, hilly characteristics and natural boundaries which make it difficult to expand, geographically there are similarities between the two cities.

Throw in the drifting mist that descends on both and it’s literally difficult to see any difference between the pair.

Then there are the cultural similarities: liberal attitudes, a large LGBT population, a love for organic food, a shared “eco-mindedness”, open neck shirts to work – the list goes on and on.

And with both cities’ economies relying on the digital and financial industries, it’s a wonder San Fran is not know as San Brightono. The only thing different is that our Californian cousins have trams, much to the envy of some of those who currently sit in high office in Brighton and Hove.

But when I was recently in San Fran, there was only one issue dominating the political scene: a housing crisis.

Over 160 years on from the gold rush which saw the creation of San Francisco as we know it, there is another mass-migration happening – but this time it’s outwards, not inwards.

For the last 20 to 30 years, the dot com boom has seen tens of thousands of young and ambitious graduates descend on the Bay Area in search of wealth and fame.

In a city measuring just seven miles across (sound familiar?), the places to build are limited, so house prices have just ballooned – and there appears little chance of the bubble bursting.

In the 1980s and 1990s, everyone was happy as the digital boom led to a boost in manufacturing in the area, particularly in the production of microchips.

But now they have been farmed out to China, India and other emerging markets, which means there is a whole host of skilled blue collar workers who have had to sell up and move out of their home city.

As one man in his 40s told me: “There are no ghettos in San Francisco anymore as the yuppies have taken over.”

Rents for a smallish one-bedroom flat are now up to $1,400 a month – about £900.

And while workers in San Fran pocket a living wage of about $10.50 an hour, this is quickly swallowed up by costs of food, travel and accommodation.

Quite clearly, the working poor have been pushed out.

And despite taking over their neighbourhoods, the yuppies still want their public transport to run on time, the streets to be cleaned and their mocha-frappuccinos served on every street corner.

The fortunate members of the former working class relocate and face lengthy commutes into the city; the unlucky are on first name terms with social services.

The ‘Summer of Love’, where hippies distributed free food to a Janis Joplin soundtrack, has been displaced by a winter of supply and demand.

In Brighton and Hove we are seeing a similar trend.

House prices have been on the rise for years while manufacturing and other blue collar jobs have been limited for a long time.

The lack of space means that if either families or firms want to expand they have to look elsewhere.

Where San Francisco has Fresno, Sacremento and Oakland; Brighton and Hove has Worthing, Newhaven and Burgess Hill.

It is very easy to blame DFL’s (Down-From-London types) and students for pushing up property prices and flooding the employment market.

For those in power it could be all too easy to sit back and make jokes about how Brighton has the most educated bar staff in the country as undergraduates stay on in the city throughout their 20s.

But will these people then go on to drive buses, sweep streets and provide other essential services which keep the city moving?

If we are to ensure the city remains a place for everyone, then we have to get building and ensure the diversity which makes it tick is not lost in the quest to be a middle class sanctuary.

As the world’s first “One Planet Living” city, what message are we sending when we have to “bus in” people to keep the city ticking over?

So city leaders, let’s learn from a place which shares so much of our own DNA.