In this historically researched and nuanced piece for The New York Times, Daniel Duane examines the conflicted attitude of San Franciscans--and Californians in general--toward homelessness, immigration, and the problems of housing density. He notes that despite the state's fame for its compassionate liberalism, when it gets right down to it few people want to actually make the changes neccessary to prevent transience, whether that's forking out more cash in the form of sales tax to build shelters, or allowing denser housing developments to help keep up with expanding populations (and the subsequent affordable housing crunch). The article notes that:

There are now tents on sidewalks above which people pay $4,500 a month for one-bedroom apartments. The construction this year of a "Super Bowl City" for football fans in downtown San Francisco in advance of the big game sent even more homeless people looking for new turf. Some formed an immense village of colorful domes between a food-truck court where my daughters like the triple-bacon hamburgers and a vegetarian grocery co-op that sells tofu in bulk.

For more on homelessness: 

• How 4 US cities are applying architectural solutions to homelessness
• 'Homeless Studio', Students Work Towards Real Solutions to the City
• Homelessness decreased this year in the US, but increased in cities including LA