San Francisco
Blog post
The al fresco streets movement, moving dining and retail space into the public realm in space historically devoted to automobiles, continues to gain momentum around the country.
Some cities are leasing entire hotels to provide rooms for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 or been exposed to infected people, to allow for safe and supportive isolation away from family or household members who risk being infected.
Medium – Bloomberg Cities
Does new market rate housing increase the average cost of housing, by inducing demand, or does it help stabilize the housing market by offering new supply? The debate continues in San Francisco.
Curbed San Francisco
The prospect of a large mixed-use development on a 17-acre parking lot in the center of San Francisco took a substantial step forward this week.
San Francisco Chronicle
Opponents of dense housing and public transit have seized on the disproportionate death toll originating from the epicenter of the nation's coronavirus outbreak. Is it time for the leaders of New York and New Jersey to admit they acted late?
Slate
According to reports, Google parent company Alphabet is pulling back on two massive land acquisition deals amidst the economic uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. A development approval setback will also slow the company's expansion.
San Jose Inside
Blog post
Some progress, but not nearly enough, has been reported as California and its cities scramble to procure temporary shelters to house homeless people during the pandemic.
Transportation officials in San Francisco are planning to restrict vehicle access on 12 streets around the city to make more room for pedestrians and people on bikes.
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
Early intervention, or population density? NPR reporters based in the Bay Area and New York City offer explanations as to why the two regions are seeing such a wide contrast in experiences during the coronavirus outbreak.
NPR
Only 17 of San Francisco's 89 Muni transit routes will still operate by the middle of the week.
San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency announced that it would shift resources away from light rail, starting Monday, and then the Valley Transportation Authority announced it was suspending light rail service in the South Bay immediately.
KRON
Feature
Cities, states, and the federal government are trying to prevent a repeat of 2008 while still facing the challenges of inequality and poverty that grew out of the previous recession.
Bike counts and bike share rides are increasing in two of the country's largest cities as commuters look for transportation modes that allow for physical distancing.
The New York Times
The effects of a global pandemic on American shores are beginning to emerge for public transit systems. The consequences of a drop in transit ridership could extend beyond the end of the pandemic.
Vice
Multiple studies have quantified the early results from a project in San Francisco that blocked most private automobile traffic from Market Street in the city's downtown.
Populus on Medium
With most private auto traffic banned on Market Street in downtown, a battle is brewing in the Mission District between Valencia Street merchants, led by a bike store owner, and cyclists who support converting a bike lane into a cycletrack.
San Francisco Chronicle
Additional disincentives for driving (i.e., congestion pricing and new parking fees) are on the mayor's agenda in San Francisco.
SFGate
Outgoing San Francisco Planning Director John Rahaim announced his departure in September. Rich Hillis will be the next to have the job.
San Francisco Chronicle
A ballot initiative by San Francisco Mayor London Breed would make it easier for qualifying developments (e.g., developments that include affordable housing) to sidestep discretionary approvals.
The New York Times
Plans for numerous large-scale developments in the region mean thousands of housing units should be on the way, but constant delays and setbacks have left projects nowhere near completion.
San Francisco Chronicle
