San Francisco Chronicle

Architect Peter Calthorpe lays out a forceful argument for the lower costs and higher benefits of constructing high speed rail versus expanded highways to serve the state's growing population and economic development.

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.

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

A group of lawyers in California has filed a lawsuit to overturn the two-thirds legislative voting requirement of Proposition 13, the law that limits increases in the state's taxes -- but not property taxes.

According to the non-partisan, independent poll, 64% of respondents endorse placing the 2008, $9.95 billion bond measure back on the ballot to allow voters to choose to proceed with the train project now that costs have doubled; 59% would vote 'no'.

A UC Berkeley traffic study shows dramatic reductions in travel time for all Bay Bridge traffic after tolls were restructured July, 2010, applying the region's first congestion charge and charging half price for carpools, ending their free passage.

On July 1, 85,000 hybrid vehicles in CA bearing clean-air stickers lost the privilege to drive solo in the carpool lane. UC Berkeley researchers show how that exclusion slowed speeds in the HOV lane while increasing congestion in the adjacent lanes.

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.

Performance parking, dynamic pricing; whatever you call it, SF Park's strategy uses the latest technology and pricing strategies to make the most efficient use of parking, with the goal of improving air quality and traffic flow. But is it working?

San Francisco has made steps to avert cars from Market Street, but the next steps to alleviate congestion are vague. A gradual rollout of trial experiments to gauge a method's success seems the most likely answer, reports Rachel Gordon.

John King makes it clear - the 4-story ring iCon (or doughnut, by some) would not work in urban San Francisco, but could be quite fitting for sprawling, suburban Silicon Valley.

Transit officials in San Francisco are considering a plan to allow transit riders to board through all doors of buses in an attempt to cut delays.

As San Francisco prepares to host the 2013 America's Cup regatta, plans to use parts of the city's scenic waterfront for spectators' yacht parking edge too far into the public realm, according to this piece from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Utility boxes are cluttering city streets all over the world. But they're not going away, and cities should start to try to find new ways to blend them into the urban fabric, according to this article from the San Francisco Chronicle.

San Francisco Chronicle urban design critic John King cautions against too much redevelopment and not enough preservation along El Camino Real in San Mateo County, where a major initiative is attempting to change much of the corridor's character.

The Yerba Buena District Street Life Plan starts off its 10-year life to improve public space by placing six mobile gardens in parts of the district that have more concrete and asphalt than vegetation, reports John King for San Francisco Chronicle.

A downtown plan created a vision for development in San Francisco, but couldn't guide the social and cultural changes the city would see over the past 25 years.

The redevelopment of former Navy land at Hunters Point in San Francisco appears to be moving ahead after a judge overruled environmental objections that could have stalled development of the new residential neighborhood.

Parking spaces in San Francisco are being repurposed as small patio-like park spaces and out door seating areas. John King of the San Francisco Chronicle looks at how they've become part of the city.

As San Francisco prepares to host the America's Cup yacht race in 2013, one of the key building areas for the event is also being fast-tracked as the site of a new cruise terminal.