The illegitimate tent: Private use of public space at a San Francisco restaurant

Abstract

Abstract In August, 2020 in San Francisco, everyone, and every restaurant, was just trying to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, three clear plastic domes popped up in front of Hashiri, a Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant on Mint Plaza; Hashiri’s manager explained to reporters that these domes ensconcing wealthy diners were chosen to keep unhoused neighbors out of sight and out of the way. Around the corner, unhoused San Franciscans slept in tents on the sidewalk. Tents and domes alike create private space in public on public land, but the city’s emergency policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic legitimized only the rights of businesses and wealthy customers to privatize Mint Plaza for commerce and enjoyment. In this study of Hashiri’s domes on Mint Plaza, I recount a story of the San Francisco government re-entrenching the rights of wealthy restaurant-goers to enjoy, inhabit, and make profit on public space, while neglecting unhoused residents on the same block.