If a city could embody a rainbow, it would be San Francisco. It is home both to the LGBT pride flag – which was first used in the city’s 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade – and a wealth of architecture and street art in multicolour.

For photographer Kristen Simar (@home_schooling), the character of the city is bound up with this multitude of colours. “San Francisco’s lifeblood is in its neighbourhoods. Each colourful house is a celebration of the city’s history and the people who have chosen to call San Francisco home. No two houses are the same and each story is unique.”

As the closest major city to Silicon Valley, the city has become the urban home of the tech scene, bringing with it a significant dose of gentrification – and change. “San Francisco, historically home to trailblazing movements, has become a city of wealth, which has forced out many who can’t keep up financially, including artists and activists. The old quirkiness and character is slowly being washed away,” Kristen explains. “I’m trying to capture every bit of beauty, colour and individuality while it’s still there.”

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