If you've followed San Francisco's housing problems lately, you've probably heard about "The Negev," a business entity which is leasing various types of space and converting it to expensive dormitory-style living quarters, marketed at young tech workers. Many of their practices seem to skirt local laws, and in at least one case, protected tenants have been displaced by one of their projects, the largest to date.
http://mashable.com/2014/11/19/negev-co-op-lawsuit-san-francisco/
The Negev is the latest development in an illegal housing trend which was first covered by local media in 2012: the "Hacker Hostel."
The Negev appears to be an attempt to normalize a problematic housing use pattern born of scarcity as a business model. The issues involved range from basic housing safety, to discrimination, and the ethics of cannibalizing existing housing stock.
Watch this space.
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