The Peninsula is generally much better run than SF.
It kind of helps that it isn't one big city. It forces the cities to compete and makes the democracy more direct and participatory. It also limits the blast radius of bad decisions.
Also, because of the greater percentage of kids, the parents often vote based on what is best for their kids.
The issues are much more
mundane. Better roads, funding for schools, etc...
The housing crisis is perpetuated by a lack of coherent planning. It's also why transit is suboptimal. It definitely doesn't help that it isn't one big city, it's actively detrimental.
It doesn't make sense for the Bay to be one big city. There is this giant thing in the middle of it that greatly increases travel time. It is called the Bay.
Even travel down the Peninsula is extended because of the linearity of the
Peninsula (you travel up and down it).
It makes more sense for there to be regional centers. Develop Oakland. Develop San Jose even more. Maybe turn Hayward into a regional hub (fat chance but the geography is interesting). San Mateo is growing for a reason.
Hook the centers together with fast regional point to point transit. There should be no stop trains between SF, San Mateo, San Jose, Oakland, and Hayward.
It is all incredibly obvious if you look at a map. It is all driven by geography.
This is also the reason that Mountain View and Fremont have grown rapidly. Just look at the map. Maybe add them
as regional centers.
It definitely helps the quality of life of the Peninsula to not be embroiled in SF politics. Tons of SF natives moved to the Peninsula for those reasons.
You don't need a large city to coordinate transportation. By that logic, the whole Bay Area should be one city.
After all, you have BART running to the East Bay, South Bay, and a tiny part of the Peninsula.
Maybe the best solution is some sort of regional association or federation of governments working on multi-jurisdictional concerns. Representing an entire area you could say.
It kind of helps that it isn't one big city. It forces the cities to compete and makes the democracy more direct and participatory. It also limits the blast radius of bad decisions.
Also, because of the greater percentage of kids, the parents often vote based on what is best for their kids.
The issues are much more mundane. Better roads, funding for schools, etc...