San Francisco has banned oversized vehicles from certain streets, targeting the growing number of people living in cars and RVs amid a severe housing crisis. The city recorded 1,794 individuals living in vehicles in 2019, a 45% increase from 2017, according to official counts.
Across the Bay in Alameda County, vehicle living more than doubled to 2,817 people over the same period. Statewide, California has built less than half the new homes needed for a decade, driving up rents and home prices. In San Francisco, the median home price reached $1.7 million in 2019, with a one-bedroom apartment renting for $3,700.
Homelessness overall has surged, with San Francisco seeing a 17% rise and Alameda County a 43% increase. In Los Angeles County, nearly 59,000 people were homeless in 2019, with 16,525 living in vehicles—28% of the total unhoused population.
San Francisco lawmaker Vallie Brown, who lived in a van as a child, recognizes the signs: curtains in windows, doors open with belongings visible. “They don’t consider themselves homeless,” she said, noting the blurry line between vehicle living and homelessness.
Officials are balancing compassion with complaints, enforcing bans while proposing safe parking zones in San Francisco and Oakland. Homeless advocates warn the numbers are rising, though the mobile population is hard to count.
