[emtel]

It would not have been possible for google to put their headquarters in SF. Obtaining that much office space was difficult enough in the middle of nowhere. It would have been completely impossible to do it in SF. The transit impact would have been catastrophic, as many (if not most) employees at google HQ do not live and do not wish to live in SF. They can't all drive there, they can't all ride caltrain (which is basically at or close to max capacity already), and no one seems to want them running even more shuttles into SF.

Yes, the valley is suffering greatly due to 50+ years of horrible planning. No, google hasn't obstinately made a socially harmful decision in the presence of better alternatives.