To whom does San Francisco’s oldest neighborhood belong?

For many years, the Mission has been the battleground for protests over evictions, tech shuttles, gentrification and the soaring cost of living.

Yet in San Francisco's oldest neighborhood, the issues are more complicated than two sides of a sharply divided protest. The Mission's longtime residents are struggling to make businesses work, fighting to keep a foothold in their homes and coping with an unprecedented influx of wealth. For them, the shift is far more nuanced than catchy protest slogans. And for newcomers, life in the neighborhood isn’t always easy.

The Chronicle spent eight months in the heart of the Mission — 24th Street at Shotwell and Folsom — documenting the changes faced by those who call this neighborhood home.