Wanted: Utilitarian City Planning

Will a San Francisco bus plan beneficial for the city as a whole be stopped by the protests of a few?

1 minute read

December 1, 2004, 11:00 AM PST

By David Gest


In San Francisco, a war is playing out over the fate of the Muni bus system, "with transit planners on one side, and people who didn't want to lose parking spaces to bus lanes...For Tenderloin residents who've gotten used to having bus stops on every block, the Muni plan is another example of fat cats in government neglecting a poor neighborhood. For transit planners, public transit advocates, and representatives for the elderly and disabled, who use public transit in large numbers, this change is actually a first step toward making transit work better citywide." Is the protest just "another questionable San Francisco social cause"?

Thanks to David Gest

Wednesday, November 24, 2004 in San Francisco Weekly

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Concrete Brutalism building with slanted walls and light visible through an atrium.

What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities

How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.

February 28, 2025 - Justin Hollander

Complete Street

‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge

Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.

February 27, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Green electric Volkswagen van against a beach backdrop.

The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan

Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.

March 3, 2025 - ABC 7 Eyewitness News

Power lines and towers at dusk.

Ratepayers Could Be on the Hook for Data Centers’ Energy Use

Without regulatory changes, data centers’ high demand for energy would be subsidized by taxpayers, according to a new study.

1 minute ago - Governing

Yellow bird with black head sitting on power line.

City Nature Challenge: Explore, Document, and Protect Urban Biodiversity

The City Nature Challenge is a global community science event where participants use the iNaturalist app to document urban biodiversity, contributing valuable data to support conservation and scientific research.

1 hour ago - City Nature Challenge

Screenshot of robot with fox and bird in The Wild Robot animated movie.

A Lone Voice for Climate: How The Wild Robot Stands Apart in Hollywood

Among this year’s Oscar-nominated films, only The Wild Robot passed the Climate Reality Check, a test measuring climate change representation in storytelling, highlighting the ongoing lack of climate awareness in mainstream Hollywood films.

2 hours ago - The Hollywood Reporter