San Francisco

U.S. Cities Cracking Down on Homelessness

Three major American cities this week—San Francisco, Dallas, and Los Angeles—responded to the growing number of homeless living on the streets with sweeps, arrests, and seizures, respectively.

March 3, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Dreaming of a Bike Path on the Western Span of the Bay Bridge

Arup released some very exciting renderings of a proposed pedestrian and bike path on one of the most picturesque and heavily-trafficked spans on the West Coast.

March 1, 2016 - The Architect's Newspaper

Portland Streetcar Bike

Tech Sector Makes Inroads in Portland

Low prices and a less frenetic working environment are drawing tech employees to Portland, Oregon. Gentrification may loom, but along with it may come expanded economic opportunities for the city and state.

February 29, 2016 - Bloomberg Business

Affordable housing

Op-Ed: Affordability Crisis Dwarfs Affordability Policies

Although the political optics are hard to see, Daniel Hertz argues that policies like inclusionary zoning need to be strengthened by orders of magnitude to have more than a token impact on housing affordability.

February 27, 2016 - City Observatory

San Francisco Offers to Refund $6 Million in Overpaid Parking Tickets

You might not believe it, but the city of San Francisco is offering refunds after realizing it overcharged on parking tickets.

February 26, 2016 - KQED News

Alamo Square

Op-Ed: Let's Build Homes, Not Ideology

Knee-jerk, ideological reactions to the California housing crisis rest on faulty arguments and threaten to cheat the state out of workable solutions.

February 18, 2016 - Eric Panzer

Uber Drivers to Protest on Super Sunday

It's easy to see why Uber would look on a Super Bowl hosted near its Bay Area home would look on the event as a large PR opportunity. Disgruntled Uber drivers see it the same way.

February 7, 2016 - Mother Jones

Take a Tour of Super Bowl City (San Francisco) Then and Now

So the Super Bowl is actually being hosted down the road in Santa Clara, but San Francisco has been Super Bowl City all week. Luckily a feature by The Guardian offers a chance to compare The City's history with its present.

February 7, 2016 - The Guardian

Up for Debate: Rent Control Expansion in San Francisco

A newly elected member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has proposed an expansion of rent control that would circumvent state laws that limit such measures.

February 5, 2016 - Beyond Chron

Skyscrapers and Starchitects Coming Soon to Downtown San Francisco

Take a tour of the changes coming the to the Transbay District in San Francisco.

January 31, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Political Battles Heating Up Over Affordable Housing in San Francisco

An affordable housing ballot measure opposed by affordable housing advocates: welcome to the strange housing politics of San Francisco.

January 26, 2016 - San Francisco Magazine

Map

Getting Residents Engaged in Participatory Mapping

Participatory mapping has become an increasingly popular planning tool. The examples that follow highlight how communities are using participatory mapping.

January 18, 2016 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

Step Aside San Francisco: The Tech Industry Still Calls the Silicon Valley Home

You wouldn't be alone if you thought the tech industry had shifted its base of operations from the Silicon Valley to San Francisco. A new study of the tech industry's real estate footprint, however, reveals the South Bay's entrenched dominance.

January 12, 2016 - Silicon Valley Business Journal

San Francisco's Yellow Cab to File for Bankruptcy

San Francisco's largest cab company is planning to file for bankruptcy very soon. The competition from transportation network companies is forcing the company, and likely the industry, to completely restructure.

January 7, 2016 - San Francisco Examiner

Spotlight on San Francisco's Extremely Green PUC Headquarters

San Francisco's PUC headquarters, "one of the greenest buildings in the nation," cut costs while introducing cutting-edge sustainable technologies to the city.

December 28, 2015 - The Planning Report

Orange Line Bus

Remix Promises to Streamline Transit Planning

Based out of San Francisco, Remix is an intuitive, data-rich tool for transit planners as they consider new routes. All you need to do is draw out the line on a map and add stops.

December 24, 2015 - Next City

Which Fears Are Blocking Solutions in Your City?

A former planning commissioner recalls often being surprised at the passion and anger displayed toward small changes around the city of San Francisco, and attempted to get to the nature of the fear driving the opposition.

December 22, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

Bus Stop Winter

The Quest for Accuracy in Predicting Bus Arrivals Has a New Friend

With better predictions, an app may help alleviate the urban annoyance of waiting for the bus that was supposed to arrive 10 minutes ago.

December 14, 2015 - Medium

San Francisco's Diesel Bus and Truck Fleet Just Got Much Greener

San Francisco's diesel vehicles have been using a biodiesel blend for years, but in a move that illustrates the differences among biofuels, Mayor Ed Lee announced that the fleet will now use 100 percent renewable diesel fuel.

December 14, 2015 - City and County of San Francisco Office of the Mayor

Beware of Energy Rankings for Cities

In a special "Energy for Tomorrow" report, The New York Times looks at "clean city rankings" of energy efficiency and land use. But ranking cities is no easy task—"winners on one list may appears as sinners on another."

December 10, 2015 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.