Planners in the city of San Francisco have a proposed a $1.4 million study to examine the possibility of removing part of Interstate 280 in the city and convert a rail yard would yield 37 acres of prime urban real estate.
A new $1.4 million study would examine the benefits, and financial realities of removing part of a freeway and converting an existing rail yard into a “high quality urban environment,” if approved by the city and county of San Francisco.
“[The study] will look for the best way to transform the three-block-long rail yard into a new urban neighborhood before building the downtown rail extension that will bring Caltrain to the new Transbay Transit Center, the planned electrification of Caltrain and the opening of still-uncertain high-speed rail system, which would also go to the transit center,” reports John Wildermuth.
The proposed study follows “[a] preliminary and much-less-detailed study in 2012 of the area suggested that land freed up by moving the rail yard and converting the freeway into a surface-level boulevard at 16th Street near Mariposa Street.” The conclusion of that idea: “[the land] could be sold to developers for up to $228 million, an estimate the study described as conservative.”
FULL STORY: Study to look at demolishing I-280, moving train yard
San Francisco: Model for Freeway Removal
Architecture critic John King tagged along with the Congress for New Urbanism. The latter was recently in San Francisco to examine the benefits of freeway removal. The city's prime case study: Octavia Boulevard.
San Francisco Debates Tearing Down More Freeways
One of the cities that's led the growing trend in urban freeway removal is considering another tear down, report Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross.
When Removing a Freeway Becomes Mundane
As a growing number of communities study freeway removal, what if the decision was no longer controversial? In Long Beach, California, two city-owned freeways carry less traffic than some neighborhood streets. Would anyone notice if they were gone?
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Median Home Prices Top $1 Million in Over 200 California Towns
Towns once known for their affordability are seeing sharply rising home prices.
LA County Receives Reconnecting Communities Grants
Seven grant awards totaling $162 million will be used for planning, capital projects, and regional partnerships to reduce environmental harm and improve access in disadvantaged communities.
Seine Pollution Could Hinder Olympic Swim Events
Events like the triathlon could be impacted if tests continue to reveal high levels of dangerous bacteria in Paris’ famous river.
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
City of Cleburne
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
City of Laramie, Wyoming
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.
