San Francisco

Woman in Bike Lane, Toronto, Canada

The Top Bike Lane Projects of 2014

Bike lanes are hot right now in cities all over the country. As more and more cities build more and more miles of bike infrastructure, which projects are exemplary?

December 19, 2014 - People for Bikes

Tough Week for Uber on the West Coast—Three Cities File Injunctions

Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland all filed suit against Uber recently hoping to bring the transportation network company in conformity with public safety regulations.

December 12, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

High Line Designer Tapped for 'Presidio Point' Project in San Francisco

The landscape architecture firm behind the High Line in New York City has been awarded another high-profile contract—this time for "Presidio Point," overlooking Crissy Field in San Francisco.

December 11, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Complete Street Makeover in the Works for 2nd Street in San Francisco

Planners in San Francisco are working on a complete street redo of a key corridor through the SoMa neighborhood that will connect downtown, Mission Bay, and the Central Waterfront.

December 5, 2014 - Socket Site

San Francisco Planners Study Extension of Central Subway to Fisherman's Wharf

San Francisco is hard at work on a Central Subway project expected to open in 2019 with a terminus in Chinatown, but planners have already been hard at work studying an extension of the subway to Fisherman's Wharf.

December 3, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Legislation Proposed to Ban Sidewalk Tolls on Golden Gate Bridge

If two assembly members from San Francisco and Marin counties have their way, pedestrians and bikers on the Golden Gate Bridge will not be tolled as if they were in a motor vehicle.

December 1, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Bus-Friendly Signaling, Bulbouts Coming to Haight Street in San Francisco

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority approved a collection of changes to San Francisco's famous Haight Street. The proposal provoked political debate that expresses the complexity of multi-modal transportation planning.

November 26, 2014 - S.F. Streetsblog

Friday Eye Candy: SPUR's Urban Cartography Exhibit

Allison Arieff provides a glimpse to the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research's new exhibit featuring interesting maps of the San Francisco Bay Area.

November 21, 2014 - Medium

Retail Development, Housing Units to Replace San Francisco's NFL Stadium

A new retail center planned for the location of the former home of the San Francisco 49ers will serve as a hub of activity for 12,000 housing units in the planning pipeline over the next ten to 20 years.

November 19, 2014 - SFGate

San Francisco Monopoly

Cities Dominating the Economic Recovery

The affordability crisis and congestion are just two of the signs of the dominance of cities in the economic recovery, according to an article in the Washington Post. In fact, outside of cities, it doesn't look much like a recovery at all.

November 19, 2014 - The Washington Post

The Challenges of Being a Chief Resilience Officer

The seriousness of resilience for cities to plan and prepare for is evidenced by the creation of a new position called the chief resilience officer.

November 17, 2014 - Next City

San Francisco Parking

An Unintended Consequence of Unbundling Parking from Housing

Transportation and affordable housing advocates advocate unbundling parking from housing to provide an incentive to own fewer vehicles while reducing housing costs and increasing supply. But should parcel taxes be applied to parking spaces?

November 17, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Oakland skyline and San Francisco Bay

The Biggest Transportation Winner on the Nov. 4 Ballot

The ballot measure generating the most new transportation funds approved by voters this month was in Alameda County, Calif. Voters chose to double an existing sales tax to one percent and extend it to 2045, raising $7.8 billion over 30 years.

November 16, 2014 - Contra Costa Times

Bay Bridge Bike Path: Cheaper is Better

The existing bike path on the eastern span of the Bay Bridge meets an abrupt dead end, though it will be extended to Yerba Buena Island next summer. Plans are underway to extend the path to San Francisco, but it won't be cheap.

November 15, 2014 - Contra Costa Times

Does Airbnb Impact the Affordable Housing Market?

Michelle Cohen discusses whether or not companies like Airbnb, which provide platforms for room and house-sharing aimed at travelers, impact a city's affordable housing market.

November 14, 2014 - 6ftsq

East Bay BRT Project Receives $81 Million in Federal Grants

Don't confuse East Bay Rapid Transit with Bay Area Rapid Transit: one's a bus, the other heavy rail. But calling it a bus does not do justice to what will be the Bay Area's first bus rapid transit (BRT) line composed primarily of dedicated lanes.

November 13, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Voters Increase Height Limits for Waterfront Development

Voters gave Forest City Enterprises' Pier 70 development the go-ahead on Tuesday by increasing height limits from 40 to 90 feet. The 65-acre property will be developed into mixed use, with 2,000 housing units, 30 percent affordable, and open space.

November 9, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Competitors File Suit Over San Francisco's Airbnb Legislation

The already controversial law enabling Airbnb in San Francisco will head to court, as a competitor believes the city has granted Airbnb an unfair advantage.

November 6, 2014 - SFGate

Campaign 2014 Results: Bay Area Transportation, Land Use, and Soda Tax Measures

Votes exceeded the two-thirds threshold to pass two vital transportation funding measures in San Francisco and Alameda counties. In Berkeley (which passed the nation's first soda tax) and Menlo Park, voters resoundingly reject anti-growth measures.

November 6, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Comparing Taxi, Transportation Network Company Fares Reveals the 'Cost of Loyalty'

An app that compares fares across transportation network company platforms reveals several lessons about the state of competition in this new transportation frontier.

November 1, 2014 - Architect This City

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.