This past weekend I attended a memorial service for a local
activist. Eric Quezada was important in many planning-related issues here in
San Francisco – how we create space that reflects the cultural traditions of
our large immigrant communities, the importance of preventing displacement of
low-income people, the development of affordable housing and institutions that
meet the needs of all of our citizenry. I had known Eric for many years, but
had the privilege of working most closely with him when I served on our city’s
Planning Commission and he was a lead organizer in the Mission District, an
historically Latino neighborhood threatened by dot-com fueled gentrification.
In his short 45 years on earth, Eric touched the lives of thousands here and
around the world.
San Francisco
The Rise of Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing
Writing in Time, Anita Hamilton examines the rise of peer-to-peer car sharing networks, and why, exactly, the world's largest car company would support such a system.
Time
Can An Electric Bike Replace A Car?
San Francisco will launch a pioneering electric bike share program this year, with the hope that pricing will help nudge consumers towards more efficient decisions, writes Sarah Laskow.
Good
How to Survive An Earthquake in the Bay Area
When the Big One strikes the Bay Area you'll want to be on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge, set to open next year. Its flexibility will allow it to ride the earthquake.
The New York Times
Why You Can Never Find a Bench in San Francisco
Over the last two decades the city of San Francisco has systematically removed its public benches to fight homelessness. Now citizens are clamoring for their return.
The New York Times
San Francisco Businesses Thrive Without Parking
The San Francisco neighborhood of Chinatown temporarily removed parking from Stockton Street for a week during the busy Lunar New Year season. Aaron Bialick reports on the results.
Streetsblog San Francisco
Highway Removals to Become More Difficult
Following highly publicized urban highway removal success stories like Boston's Big Dig and San Francisco's Embarcadero, Anthony Flint asks whether similar successes will be easy to duplicate.
The Atlantic Cities
More Meter Revenue But Fewer Parking Tickets Issued
SF Park is an outstanding success when measured by 'ticket anxiety'; i.e. the new program allows motorists to reduce the likelihood of being ticketed by making payment easier and allowing for longer parking stays, thus avoiding a $55-65 citation.
San Francisco Chronicle
Trying to Preserve a Piece of San Francisco History
San Francisco's Coit Tower is one of the city's historic and iconic buildings, and it's also home to a collection of historic fresco paintings of Depression-era California. But the building and its paintings are falling apart.
Los Angeles Times
A Historic Preservation Backlash in San Francisco
San Francisco's planning and permitting process has become so complicated and expensive that former advocates of preservation are now fighting back against the city's historic preservation efforts.
The New York Times
Touring San Francisco's Parklets: A New Urban Trend
Parklets are a new urban trend spreading to cities all over the world. It's an idea born in San Francisco, and the San Francisco Chronicle's John King takes a tour of each of the city's new mini-parks
San Francisco Chronicle
Alleys for People?
Can the community of Long Beach, California use examples from much larger places like San Francisco and East Village to reclaim its extensive public alleys?
Long Beach Post
San Francisco's Performance Parking Pilot Less Successful Than Hoped
In San Francisco, a performance parking pilot program has not had as big an impact as many thought it would. According to Michael Perkins, "Even with high rates, popular blocks still fill up, and other blocks remain under-filled even at low prices."
Greater Greater Washington
San Francisco: "Transit First" In Name Only
Well ahead of it's time, San Francisco adopted a 'transit-first policy' in 1973. However, the 'drive-alone' mode dominates at 39%. While far better than elsewhere in the Bay Area and much of the U.S., transit remains clearly in second place at 32%.
San Francisco Examiner
Hearst Corp Planning To Redevelop San Francisco Block
Hearst Corporation is planning to redevelop the city block that surrounds its San Francisco Chronicle offices at 5th and Mission. The update would include a new mixed use tower containing 1.3 million square feet of commercial space.
SF Gate
San Francisco Mayoral Candidates Lacking Urban Vision
In the thick of the campaign, the American Institute of Architects invited the eleven major candidates for mayor of San Francisco to debate their respective visions for the City by the Bay.
The Examiner
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.
The San Francisco Examiner
Parking (or Lack Thereof) Drives Choice
In this Climate Watch blog and accompanying "Miles To Go" radio report, the reporter observes how powerful parking rated as a factor in determining whether to drive, walk, or take transit, and the public policies that affect the quantity of parking.
KQED News: Climate Watch
Taking a Stroll With a Guide to Understanding Cities
In his critique of "Urban Code: 100 Lessons for Understanding the City," San Francisco Chronicle Columnist John King says how the book's formula for a city doesn't do justice to its authenticity.
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco's Parklets a Success
Warren Karlenzig pays San Francisco a visit to tour its 15 "parklets", tiny urban public spaces carved out of underused road space or a couple of parking lots.
GreenFlow
Planetizen picks
Contribute
- Top Cities For Singles Revealed
- Are the Arts Losing Out in D.C. Redevelopment?
- Detroit For Sale?
- Chinese Cities in Desperate Need of Competent Planning
- The Rise of Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing
- What the Feds are Doing to Connect Housing Policy to Health Policy
- Why the Politics of Climate Change Matter
- Waste Disposal Becomes Sexy
- Murky Future for Two of D.C.'s Architectural Gems
- The Story Behind One of the Most Controversial Buildings in the Country
Information Sources in Planning: Principles -- Michael Dudley
Optimal Transport Policy For An Uncertain Future -- Todd Litman
Faculty Using Web 2.0 to Show Images -- Ann Forsyth
Information Sources in Planning: Introduction -- Michael Dudley
Liveblog: ULI Rose Center Kansas City Study Visit -- Jess Zimbabwe
My Storm, Managing the Recovery of New Orleans in the Wake of Katrina is Required Reading for Planners
U Penn Press
Feb 13, 2012
Planetizen Announces New Managing Editor: Jonathan Nettler, AICP
Planetizen
Feb 13, 2012
Volunteerism Plays Critical Role in Reaching World’s Millennium Development Goals
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University
Feb 10, 2012
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