San Francisco
Brownfield Approved For Huge, Controversial Mixed-Use Redevelopment
By an 8-3 vote at 1:35 AM, July 14, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a plan to add 10,500 homes (32% affordable) on a 720-acre brownfield site known as Hunters Point, a former shipyard, including 320 acres of parkland and open space.
S.F.'s Market Street Railway Celebrates Sesquicentennial
Carl Nolte, the San Francisco Chronicle's historian, writes on the 150-year anniversary of the Market St. Railway that began operation as a 2-car steam train on July 4, 1860, and the evolution of rail on/under Market St including BART & Muni Metro.
California Should Alter Its HSR Plans to Save Money
Thomas Elias argues that California's HSR plans should be altered to reduce costs and avoid some urban municipalities against the plans. This would reduce the $25 billion funding gap and allow construction to move ahead.
Double-Parking, Churches, and Cyclist Safety
Double-parking can be hazardous to cyclists. But police in San Francisco aren't enforcing the law when double-parking happens during church services. Some argue that the rule of law must be followed.
New Bike Lanes Hope To Eliminate 'Dooring' Factor
Actually, dooring (motorist or passenger exiting car opens door on passing cyclist) might still occur, but the driver would have to watch for passing cars, not cyclists, as the bike lane would be placed between the parked cars, buffer and the curb.
The San Francisco of Fill-in-the-Blank
San Francisco is often upheld as a model for other global cities, with places such as Brighton, Port-au-Prince, and Geneva being compared to the city by the bay.
Want to Prevent Crime? Apply Women and Children
Peter Vaernet, aka the "Mad Viking", transformed a pocket park known for drugs and violence into a safe, active place by bringing lots of women and children into the park.
Santa Clara Residents Back Stadium Spending
Residents in Santa Clara, California have approved a measure that would direct $937 million in funding towards the creation of a stadium intended to lure the San Francisco 49ers football team.
Sit/Lie Proposal Shot Down in San Francisco
A controversial plan being pushed by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to ban sitting or laying on public sidewalks during certain hours of the day has been voted down by supervisors.
San Francisco Considers Demand-Based Parking Prices
San Francisco's transportation agency has proposed the installation of parking meters in a handful of neighborhoods that dynamically change their prices according to the time of day and the related demand.
Are San Francisco Planners Going Too Far?
Architects in San Francisco say that the Planning Department has gotten increasingly involved in design decisions over the past two years, favoring traditional projects over contemporary designs.
Streets Improved, And Now the Bill
A variety of road and streetscape improvement projects in San Francisco are reviving the city's streets. But now, the city has to ask itself whether it wants to keep paying for these improvements.
A Crowdsourced Tree Census for Cities
GOOD points us to a new project that harnesses the power of citizens to create a census of trees in San Francisco.
Consolidating Stops to Make Buses Run Faster
Riders of San Francisco's Muni bus system often complain that the buses stop too much. Now, evidence is building that simply consolidating bus stops will help to make the buses run faster and more reliably.
Comparing San Francisco's Tenderloin and L.A.'s Skid Row
This blog post from Governing explores the similarities between San Francisco's troubled Tenderloin district and Los Angeles' Skid Row-adjacent Spring Street corridor, and why one struggles and the other has found some developmental success.
From Bedroom Communities to Jet Engine Communities
More and more people working in the San Francisco Bay Area are opting for cheaper housing outside the region. Some are going way outside the region, commuting by airplane from Portland or Seattle.
Bay Area Rediscovers the Creeks Under The Streets
A new proposal in Berkeley to daylight a portion of Strawberry Creek is the latest in a lineage of small interventions to bring buried portions of the urban watershed to the surface.
Success in San Francisco Alleyways
This piece from The Examiner looks at the alleyways of San Francisco and how they have become activated in recent years.
San Francisco Takes Lessons From Seattle Over Sidewalk Sitting
San Francisco's recently passed and controversial sit/lie laws that prohibit sitting on sidewalks were based on a similar rule passed in Seattle in 1993. Though that rule has been on the books for years, its controversy remains.
Revitalizing A San Francisco Port
The Port of San Francisco is considering plans to redevelop Port 70, one of the last working sections of the city's waterfront.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
