The Mission Rock project eliminates street parking, replacing it with public seating and landscaping.

A new waterfront development in San Francisco could offer a more pedestrian-oriented model for U.S. neighborhoods, writes Nate Berg in Fast Company. “Uniquely, the neighborhood has been designed with pedestrian-first streets that do not allow on-street parking. The new street rooms are designed to give pedestrians more spaces to use along its two main corridors.”
Even in walkable San Francisco, car-free streets are rare. The 28-acre development, called Mission Rock, still offers some car access, but “The street itself at Mission Rock is revolutionary in its own regard. It was designed to be curbless, creating a completely flat 60-foot canyon between the building frontages on either side. Subtle steel grates provide drainage and a marker between the narrow car-accessible space and the rest of the public realm, and a small trapezoidal grade elevation makes a perceptible barrier for the visually impaired.”
The project includes three “street rooms” that center on public art that is designed to be sat on, climbed, or rested under. According to CMG Landscape Architecture cofounder Willett Moss, “The street rooms were developed to be places that people can hang out. They are, in this case, places where things are whimsical, and different identities and qualities and experiences can be expressed.”
FULL STORY: San Francisco’s newest neighborhood offers a glimpse of life without cars

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

Alabama School Forestry Initiative Brings Trees to Schoolyards
Trees can improve physical and mental health for students and commnity members.

NYC Outdoor Dining Could Get a Re-Do
The city council is considering making the al fresco dining program year-round to address cost concerns from small businesses.

HSR Reaches Key Settlement in Northern California City
The state’s high-speed rail authority reached an agreement with Millbrae, a key city on the train’s proposed route to San Francisco.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Ada County Highway District
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service