Located in the center of San Francisco and famous for Mission Dolores, which was founded in 1776 and attracts tourists from all over, the Mission neighborhood is full of life.

Take the Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART) to either 16th or 24th Streets and you will enter a world where Spanish is the local language and the streets are full of vibrant colors.  You’ll notice that murals and other public art is easily found, tall palm trees line the streets, and people say hello (or Hola) as you walk along Mission Street, which is lined with neighborhood serving businesses.  Grocers sell fresh fruit, vegetables, and fish to passersby; ladies enter salons; books are sold on the sidewalk; and decorative scenes make up the window displays, a result of a MEDA-sponsored contest in celebration of the traditional spring festival, Carnaval.  Colorful “Our Mission” and “Nuestra Mission” banners also hang along Mission Street.

Walk a few blocks to Valencia Street, which runs parallel to Mission St., and you’ll find newer, swankier retailers, high-end boutiques, and restaurant chains, all a product of gentrification.  While most of the vibrancy of the original neighborhood has been taken away with the gentrification, Valencia St. is still colorful in its own way.

On 18th & Dolores Streets you’ll find Dolores Park, where artsy signs are posted to remind people to “Litter Me.  Not!”, likely put there by some of the Mission High School students who spend their days in class across the street from the large park.  Not far is the Mission Dolores and Mission Dolores Catholic Church (tours available for five dollars), which shares the intersection of 16th & Dolores with a Jewish Synagogue and a Methodist Church, yet another reflection of diversity in the neighborhood.

The Women’s Building on 18th Street between Valencia and Guerrero Streets is a community center, “providing women and girls with the tools they need to participate fully in society”.  The “Maestrapeace” mural covers the exterior walls and reflects not only the diversity of the neighborhood, but the many contributions by women throughout the world.  It was painted in 1994 by a “multi-cultural, multi-generation collaboration of seven women artists”.

While you won’t find anything quite like the Mission neighborhood in the City of Pittsburgh, it’s interesting to note some of the similar challenges they face, albeit for different reasons.  In the Mission, it’s the market that’s driving businesses out of the neighborhood, but they’re not leaving by choice.  There are very few vacant spaces in their neighborhood, and so the value of the spaces are sky rocketing.  In the Pittsburgh region, there has been a trend of businesses leaving city neighborhoods to go to the suburbs, although it’s because of the preferences of business owners rather than the lack of available spaces and skyrocketing rents.

MEDA

MEDA, the Mission Economic Development Agency, works to maintain and strengthen the Mission neighborhood’s cultural integrity by facilitating asset building within the community.  They use a community-based planning approach that looks towards the long-term health of the neighborhood, working in a manner that is culturally inclusive and able to sustain economic diversity.

Formed in 1973, MEDA’s original focus was on helping small businesses get access to capital.   But in 1999 the neighborhood had an influx of dot com businesses which drove up market value and fueled the displacement of businesses and residents alike.  At the time, 82% of residents and 80% of businesses were renting space.  Because many had very weak leases or no lease at all, their interests were not protected.  Absentee landlords raised rents (often tripling in one month’s time!) and evicted many of their month-to-month tenants to make room for new, higher paying tenants. 

MEDA found that the displacement of residents and businesses was the biggest challenge facing the neighborhood.  Their focus changed from helping businesses get financing to building stronger and lengthier leases to ensure stability of the neighborhood serving businesses, as well as help increase home ownership.  Since 2000 MEDA has assisted around 250 people per year with their homeownership program; 120 of these now own their own home.  Plus, a legal consultant helps conduct workshops to teach lease negotiation, both in English and en Español (over half the neighborhood is Latino).  MEDA is also partnering with community members and other non-profits on neighborhood revitalization and better land use codes to prevent further displacement.  In sticking with their mission, they are careful to improve the quality of life for current residents and business owners without replacing them.

Links

Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)

The Women's Building

BART Entrance, 16th & Mission

Mission Street

Our Mission/Nuestra Mission

Sign in front of Mission Dolores

Sign at Dolores Park

Mission High School

Mural seen from Mission Street

Valencia Street