San Francisco Plan Had Vision, But Also Missed Targets

A new report looks at the impact of the plan, written in 1985.

"The plan was effective at expanding the city's Financial District south of Market Street, while neighborhoods such as Chinatown were shielded from disruptive change. It created fees that, with little subsequent fuss, have generated $200 million for Muni and affordable housing.

But to the extent it tried to micromanage social and cultural issues - a goal of City Hall activists then and now - the Downtown Plan was an exercise in futility. Regional trends in automobile use, job creation and housing prices paid no attention to how San Francisco thought the world should be."