San Francisco

Local Revenue Funding More Bay Area Road Maintenance

The greater Bay Area is enjoying a substantial increase in road maintenance funding from local measures, like bonds, city and county sales taxes, and development fees, part of a growing trend in compensating for a shortage of state gas tax funds.

January 27, 2015 - Inside Bay Area.com

Golden Gate Bridge Safety Measures Inspire Drivers to Speed

In more proof of how far perceived safety goes in establishing the speed of drivers, the California Highway Patrol is dealing with the unintended consequences of changes on the Golden Gate Bridge.

January 24, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

Lots of Work Left for San Francisco's Affordable Housing Goals

San Francisco's State of the City address provided an opportunity to check in on the progress of the affordable housing agenda of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.

January 19, 2015 - SFGate

'Showers on Wheels' and Other Design Interventions to Help the Homeless

Recent years have produced no dearth of design interventions to improve quality of life for wealthy urban dwellers, but some recent efforts in San Francisco are targeted to help the city's homeless population.

January 19, 2015 - New York Times

Pitching a Pop-Up Beer Garden for the Giants' Waterfront Ballpark

The San Francisco Giants are proposing a clever scheme to activate the space in one of its ballpark adjacent parking lots. The Yard, as it's called, could be ready by Spring Training.

January 15, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

Alta Bicycle Share Changes its Name

Alta Bicycle Share is now known as Motivate. So let it be written. So let it be done.

January 15, 2015 - StreetsBlog NYC

First New U.S. Waste-to-Energy Plant in 20 Years to Open in Florida

Waste-to-energy plants, or incinerators, are classified as renewable power plants by the EPA. A controversial Baltimore plant is under construction as well. More common in Europe, they may be catching on stateside due to low recycling rates.

January 13, 2015 - The New York Times

How To: Design a User-Friendly Museum Exhibition about Planning

John King writes that the "Gallery + Ideas Forum" at the Presidio in San Francisco provides an excellent model for presenting issues and ideas of planning and urban design to the public.

January 10, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

SF Cable Cars

Milken Institute Ranks 2014's 'Best Performing Cities'

The Milken's Institute report ranked San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City at the top of the performance index for the first time in the list's 15-year history.

January 9, 2015 - CityLab

The Potential Downside of Railroad Electrification—for Motorists

Electrification of the Caltrain will be great for train riders, the environment, air quality, and public health, but it might worsen traffic congestion between San Jose and San Francisco by increasing the frequency of commuter trains.

January 9, 2015 - San Jose Mercury News

Friday Funny: Critics Skewer High-Rise-with-a-Mouth in San Francisco

Kriston Capps shares the creative work of a couple of arm-chair architecture critics who took to Photoshop to express their opinions about the Snøhetta-designed tower proposed for One Van Ness in San Francisco.

January 9, 2015 - CityLab

Report: San Francisco's City Parks Worth $959 Million

The Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence released a report placing the value of San Francisco's park system at $959 million.

January 7, 2015 - City Parks Blog

A Case Study of San Francisco's Evolution—at 10th and Mission

San Francisco Chronicle Architecture Critic John King dives into the economic and planning dynamics behind the remarkable transformation of 10th and Mission in San Francisco.

January 3, 2015 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Belden Place

Four Cities Making the Most of Alley Spaces

Urbanful examines four cities making the most of scare public spaces by reactivating their alleys with programming and pedestrian-friendly designs.

December 30, 2014 - Urbanful

Op-Ed: Time for the Bay Area to Embrace Regional Planning

An op-ed by the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board takes cues from London's regional transportation planning efforts in an argument supporting regional planning for the San Francisco-San Jose Bay Area.

December 29, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Polk Street Bikes

Is America's Best Bike Lane Overrated?

The SF Examiner reports on America's top-rated bike lane, as rated by People for Bikes. The protected contraflow lane runs from Market Street to Grove Street, all of two blocks; only one block in opposite direction is separated

December 27, 2014 - San Francisco Examiner

Critical Support for New NBA Arena Proposal in San Francisco

After controversy derailed an earlier plan by the Golden State Warriors to build a new arena at Piers 30-32 along the Embarcadero in San Francisco, a new plan at a new location has made progress toward completion.

December 26, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Busy Crossing Street

Big Cities Make Pedestrian Safety a Priority

New data released Dec. 19 by NHTSA shows increased safety for those traveling by car, but pedestrian fatalities are 15% higher than in 2009. Plans by San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago to increase ped safety are described by the WSJ.

December 22, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

San Francisco Chronicle Takes a Deep Look at Gentrification in the Mission

A feature series by the San Francisco Chronicle explores the challenges of gentrification at what some might consider ground zero of gentrification in the San Francisco Bay Area—the Mission.

December 22, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

A Housing Affordability Report Card for the Bay Area

SPUR didn't give a grade to the Bay Area on housing affordability in its most recent issue of The Urbanist, but it does provide a thorough overview of the current and ongoing efforts to make housing more affordable in the region.

December 20, 2014 - The Urbanist

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.