What is the most left-wing city in America?

[iheartthed]

Not NYC. Probably a competition between SF, Portland, and Seattle.

[mhays]

Seattle shifted to the central-left in the November 2021 election, and has avoided some of the progressive excesses since then.

It's also stayed away from nimbyism, aiding in the population boom of recent decades. Citywide upzones are coming in 2024, and the progressive wing is mostly arguing for the highest-growth scenarios.

In San Francisco, the progressive and old-folks wings are both staunchly nimby.

[dimondpark]

I'm suddenly concerned after reviewing this election map from 2020:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...ction-map.html

Every census tract around us voted 90% or higher for Biden, but in our tract, a whopping 13% of our census tract voted for Trump. Biden only won 85% of the vote here.

I don't know if I want my kids to play outside anymore.
















lol

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by mhays

Seattle shifted to the central-left in the November 2021 election, and has avoided some of the progressive excesses since then.

It's also stayed away from nimbyism, aiding in the population boom of recent decades. Citywide upzones are coming in 2024, and the progressive wing is mostly arguing for the highest-growth scenarios.

In San Francisco, the progressive and old-folks wings are both staunchly nimby.

That is such a hypocrisy isnt it? I cannot stand the Oakland Heritage Alliance. They fight to preserve run down ghettos and impede meaning development that the city needs.

Oak-to-Ninth(3,000+ units) was proposed back when George W Bush was president and they fought it tooth and nail. The project eventually won, but over a decade later...and the project has been transforming that part of the waterfront for about 5 years now with more to come, but the delay tactics were just ridiculous, and totally representative of 'progressive' nimbys.

[iheartthed]

I would define being a "liberal" city as having cultures of: 1) high diversity tolerance (ethnic and social), 2) strong protection of human rights, and 3) strong pro-urban growth policies. This is how I'd generally rank the principal city of the 30 largest metros from most "liberal" to least "liberal" based on this criteria:

1. San Francisco
2. Portland
3. Seattle
4. Minneapolis
5. Boston
6. New York
7. Los Angeles
8. Washington
9. Denver
10. Austin
11. Chicago
12. Philadelphia
13. Detroit
14. Baltimore
15. Pittsburgh
16. St. Louis
17. San Diego
18. Atlanta
19. Miami
20. Las Vegas
21. Charlotte
22. Orlando
23. Tampa
24. Sacramento
25. San Antonio
26. Cincinnati
27. Houston
28. Dallas
29. Phoenix

SF seems to rank the highest on all three. NYC ranks high on diversity tolerance and very high on pro-urban policies, but is average to poor on protection of human rights, particularly regarding the relationship between law enforcement and the community. Much of this is based on my perception of places through media.

[Yuri]

Isn't San Francisco very NIMBY? Then they wouldn't count high on the "pro-urban growth policies".

[JHikka]

Don't see why people are conflating voting Democrat with being left-wing. They can be mutually-exclusive.

Originally Posted by iheartthed

1. San Francisco
2. Portland
3. Seattle
4. Minneapolis
5. Boston
6. New York
7. Los Angeles
8. Washington
9. Denver
10. Austin

This is a good starting point. SF seems like an easy answer depending on its boundaries - I am under the assumption that a lot of the tech folks in San Jose and environs aren't all that progressive, though. SF itself probably leads. Minneapolis, Boston, Denver, and Austin are all good shouts outside of the more obvious PacNW cities.

[Crawford]

I'm not sure most self-identified progressive would label "pro growth" as a progressive identifier. I get why people on SSP include it, but no way is some stereotypical Occupy Portland protestor supporting highrise condo development.

[Crawford]

Boston is a weird one, bc it unquestionably votes very left, it has a progressive legal and regulatory environment, but it doesn't really have a progressive feel like a SF or Seattle (or even DC or NYC). Not sure if it's the Irish-Catholic influence, something about the New England character, or something else. Boston just isn't the place for any sort of radical social movement or complete freedom of expression.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Yuri

Isn't San Francisco very NIMBY? Then they wouldn't count high on the "pro-urban growth policies".

I doesn't seem more NIMBY than any other city IMO. It just gets more attention because of how expensive land values are there. But SF also invests far more into public transit and transit-oriented development than almost any place on that list.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I'm not sure most self-identified progressive would label "pro growth" as a progressive identifier.

Urban growth. I'm not talking about Texas cities lol.

[Yuri]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I'm not sure most self-identified progressive would label "pro growth" as a progressive identifier. I get why people on SSP include it, but no way is some stereotypical Occupy Portland protestor supporting highrise condo development.

Even though in Brazil urban growth is not part of heated political debate as in many US cities, I don't see the average left-winger down here being pro-development at all. Any new residential highrise is called especulação imobiliária ("real estate speculation" in a free translation).

Needless to say that's only a very silly catch-phrase, after all, building a tower in a plot where there was a detached house or a parking lot is precisely the opposite of "speculation". They're putting the land to some use while the former were waiting for prices to rise and sell in a distant future or never.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by JHikka

This is a good starting point. SF seems like an easy answer depending on its boundaries - I am under the assumption that a lot of the tech folks in San Jose and environs aren't all that progressive, though. SF itself probably leads. Minneapolis, Boston, Denver, and Austin are all good shouts outside of the more obvious PacNW cities.

Yeah, only talking about the principal city. The South SF Bay doesn't seem extraordinary liberal at all.

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Yeah, only talking about the principal city. The South SF Bay doesn't seem extraordinary liberal at all.

The South Bay is very liberal in the voting booth.

[dc_denizen]

SF and Seattle have major capitalistic business presences

To be truly left wing you need to have no investor owned profit seeking industries in the city limits , like Portland .

Jo Ann hardesty would not be voted into office in DC or Seattle .

There was no backlash against pro crime policies post -blm riots in Portland , unlike Seattle and SF .

[pj3000]

Voting for Joe Biden is now being equated with being "left-wing"

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Voting for Joe Biden is now being equated with being "left-wing"

Yeah that's a bit of a stretch to say the least but what other broadly based survey on the top of left/right that literally every city/metro participated in can we look at?

Anyhow, from manitopiaaa's great thread:

Metro Areas by Percent of Vote for Biden 2020:
80.52% San Francisco
73.87% San Jose
73.35% Washington DC
69.08% Seattle
68.02% Boston
67.89% Los Angeles
65.81% Chicago
65.76% Portland
64.91% Philadelphia
63.65% Austin
62.93% Denver
62.62% Baltimore
62.12% Hartford
61.67% San Diego
61.00% New York

I'm actually very impressed by Chicago in this stat.

[Crawford]

Voting for Biden is a poor proxy for ascertaining relative radicalism. San Jose was far more pro-Biden than Portland, but no one would claim San Jose is more left-wing than Portland. San Jose just has tons of moderate, centrist voters, highly educated and with middle class concerns. Which is basically textbook Biden voter.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I'm not sure most self-identified progressive would label "pro growth" as a progressive identifier. I get why people on SSP include it, but no way is some stereotypical Occupy Portland protestor supporting highrise condo development.

Unfortunately true.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by dimondpark

I'm actually very impressed by Chicago in this stat.

Trumpism is essentially cancerous to the old guard country club republicans of Dupage and Lake counties.

But do not mistake them for "left-wing". They are relatively wealthy, highly-educated "establishment" counties that just want upper middle class status quo stability above all else.