San Francisco

In Praise of Non-Profit Developers

John King of the San Francisco Chronicle trumpets the work of Bridge Housing in increasing the availability of quality affordable housing in the Bay Area. But is it enough? New studies say affordable housing is an uphill battle.

26 February 2009 - 5:00am

San Francisco Chronicle

Car-Free on Market Street?

San Francisco's Market Street is heavily used by buses, cars, cyclists, and pedestrians alike. Officials are studying the potential effect of restricting cars either partially or completely, to make it "great once again."

25 February 2009 - 2:00pm

The San Francisco Chronicle

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Improving On The Ambiguity of Privately Owned Public Spaces

Cities are filled with spaces intended for the public -- but many of them are clearly owned and operated by the private sector. Though cities bend rules to get these spaces built, the public benefit is often outweighed by the cost. The challenge now is to make them better.

12 February 2009 - 5:00am

SF a Model for Casual Carpooling

"Casual carpooling," an informal system involving commuting with complete strangers, has taken off in the Bay Area. Passengers and drivers cite money, time, and the environment for its success.

11 February 2009 - 6:00am

GOOD Magazine

Why San Francisco's Bike Sharing Plan Won't Work

This piece from Streetsblog San Francisco looks at the city's recently announced plans for a bike sharing program and why the 50-bike pilot is likely to fail.

7 February 2009 - 11:00am

Streetsblog San Francisco

Height-For-Space Strategy Works, Mostly

San Francisco and other cities have historically given developers the incentive to build taller for providing a proportional amount of public space. This article looks at what has worked as well as how it has backfired.

4 February 2009 - 8:00am

San Francisco Chronicle

Retiming Streetlights for Bikes

SF Streetsblog looks at cities that have timed traffic lights on busy bike streets to best suit their pace, and argues that Valencia St. in San Francisco is a prime candidate for retiming. (VIDEO)

1 February 2009 - 11:00am

Streetsblog

Cracking San Francisco's Private/Public Spaces

San Francisco building codes encouraged the creation of privately-owned, publicly-accessible spaces across the downtown. These spaces have gone underused and are little understood. A new report from SPUR attempts to clear the fog.

24 January 2009 - 9:00am

Streetsblog

Even for SF, Congestion Pricing "Too Much"

This editorial argues that the San Francisco isn't ready for a complex scheme that the public dislikes, raises little funding, and would send an 'unwelcome' message to visitors.

22 January 2009 - 6:00am

San Francisco Chronicle

Seeking Sponsors As Infrastructure Dies

This piece from New Geography looks disparagingly at an idea in San Francisco to allow corporate sponsorship of the Golden Gate Bridge in order to raise money for infrastructure projects.

15 January 2009 - 7:00am

New Geography

The Planetizen News Brief - 1/15/09

4:00 minutes (3.72 MB)

Clues Phoenix may be shrinking, San Francisco's parking experiment and Seattle's tunnel vision, all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, a rundown of some of the most interesting and important news and issues, airing weekly on "Smart City".

15 January 2009 - 5:00am

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SF's Parking Experiment to Test Shoup's Theories

San Francisco's federally-funded parking experiment SFPark will be a live test of the theories of dynamic parking management popularized by Donald Shoup.

12 January 2009 - 6:00am

Streetsblog San Francisco

Congestion Pricing No Sure Thing in Liberal San Francisco

The political climate in San Francisco might seem likely to approve the city's congestion pricing plan, but opposition is strong.

31 December 2008 - 5:00am

Los Angeles Times

Save a City, Win a Prize

A California state arm called the Bay Conservation and Development Commission has announced plans for a $125,000 contest to come up with ideas for cities to deal with climate change in the San Francisco Bay Area.

25 December 2008 - 9:00am

San Francisco Chronicle

The Case Against San Francisco's Congestion Pricing Plan

In this op-ed, "San Francisco is not London", Steve Falk, the CEO of the S.F. Chamber of Commerce, explains why London-style congestion pricing is inappropriate for the downtown core - that it would only hurt businesses without reducing congestion.

24 December 2008 - 9:00am

San Francisco Chronicle

The Environmental Impact of Cement Plants

Cement is everywhere, and the building material makes a huge impact on the environment in terms of emissions, according to the San Francisco Sentinel. This article outlines the cement-making process.

21 December 2008 - 11:00am

San Francisco Sentinel

Understanding San Francisco's Congestion Pricing Study

In this op-ed, the executive director of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority makes a case for congestion pricing in the City, though he is quick to indicate the SFCTA is only studying the concept to see if it could be applied there.

17 December 2008 - 7:00am

San Francisco Chronicle

Subway Approved for San Francisco

A proposal to run a light rail subway through central San Francisco passed environmental scrutiny at the federal level, green lighting the project to move forward. Now all the $1.3 billion project needs is some federal funding.

8 December 2008 - 7:00am

San Francisco Chronicle

Draft EIR on SF's Bike Plan Released

A court order prohibits new bicycle infrastructure in San Francisco, but its Municipal Transportation Agency and Planning Department have crafted a 1,353-page Draft Environmental Impact Report to make a case against it.

5 December 2008 - 11:00am

Streetsblog