San Francisco's Skyline is Shaped by "Mediocre Opinion"

Columnist Ken Garcia writes that San Francisco's neighborhood-driven political system has been a more powerful force in shaping the city's skyline than the planning department has.

1 minute read

November 1, 2011, 6:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

Garcia says that politics are the reason that the city "...has so few beautiful new buildings and even fewer signature ones."

He quotes an architect that designed a very significant San Francisco tower, who came to the conclusion that San Francisco is a great city "without any great buildings."

"One of the problems with San Francisco - at least architecturally - is that it's a tremendously democratic city," Marc Goldstein told me. "And one of the reasons there's so much mediocre architecture is that there's so much mediocre opinion."

FULL STORY: For San Francisco democracy, the skyline’s the limit

Monday, October 31, 2011 in The San Francisco Examiner

Architecture California San Francisco

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

Start Learning

Advertise with us

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.