In San Francisco, scooters used by protesters were thrown in the street to block Google worker buses from ferrying staff to Silicon Valley Thursday morning amid mounting tension between the area's lower income groups and the booming tech industry, CNBC noted.
The angry demonstrations were held in response to the economic impact of the flourishing technology industry, which was affecting housing prices and the overall cost of living in the Bay Area and further highlighting the city's crippling homelessness situation.
Shedding light on this, a recent report found that the median one-bedroom apartment in the San Francisco Bay Area is significantly more expensive than it is in the New York City metro area, and apartments in San Francisco are listed at a higher price than those in Manhattan.
The city's mayor recently added fuel to the fire when he revealed plans to clear tent encampments out of the Mission District, which further angered residents.
Taking to the streets Thursday, dozens of protesters set off smoke bombs and blocked buses along the intersection of 24th and Valencia streets by tossing electrical scooters into the street.
They also carried signs that read "Techsploitation Is Toxic," and "Sweep Tech Not Tents," The San Francisco Chronicle noted.
One 23-year-old resident, Sam Lew, said she has seen first-hand how the developing tech industry has displaced others across San Francisco.
"The city has been very aggressively sweeping people out who are living in tents and sitting on the streets," she said.
"It's very very clear that we are prioritizing technology over human beings."
State Senator Scott Wiener took to social media to address the protests, noting that there was a "real problem" in the San Francisco area.
"We will solve them *only* if we work together," he tweeted, noting that ""trashing scooters, blocking commuter shuttles so people can’t get to work, & demonizing people because of where they work isn’t how you make positive change."
In another tweet, Wiener pointed out that he thought the community wanted children to grow up and stay in San Francisco, with access to "these 21st century jobs, & make great lives for themselves in our city. Isn’t that one of our goals?"
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