Don't Haight the Player, Hate the Game

The Haight-Ashbury, a neighborhood best known for the crucial role it played during the spawning of the hippy/drug culture in the 1960s, was recently given a rather short-sited stigmata. An article in the business section of the San Francisco Chronicle does a little slam dance on one of the city's most storied neighborhoods. Unfortunately, the dance wasn't being performed by brightly colored bears or skeletons.
The article focuses on the price of real estate in the Haight being really high, despite the neighborhood being overrun with transients and their pit-bulls. With the approval of Whole Foods, the neighborhood prices stand to increase even more; which apparently confounds the writer(s) of this article.
Honestly, at first glance, Haight Street is quite the spectacle; home to countless vagrants (with their dogs), bong shops, and artsy clothing stores . And yes, you can smell Marijuana in the air as you wander about this urban Hippy-Haven. Overlooked in this article, however, are all the great things the Haight has to offer (in addition to the bong shops, cool clothing stores and wonderful scent of ganja.)
Nestled between the Panhandle and Golden Gate Park, the Haight offers numerous outdoor outlets; of which, most other neighborhoods in San Francisco are deprived. It's home to the Urban School, a Boys and Girls Club, a public library, and Buena Vista Park. What is more, it's a few blocks from USF, several hospitals, Lower Haight, Cole Valley, Inner Sunset, Divis', and Inner Richmond.
As for the transients and their pit-buls, of course they're annoying; but the vast majority of them are non-aggressive and non-violent. Which brings us to safety, (with no statistical basis mind you, rather my experience living in San Francisco and word-of-mouth), there are fewer car break-ins, thefts, and muggings in the Haight-Ashbury than in at least 4-5 other neighborhoods in San Francisco.
Pretty sure the thousands of tourists flocking to San Francisco every year appreciate the unique vibe that only the Haight can provide: A vibe that can be largely attributed to the copious consumption of The Chronic!