San Francisco

Sunnyside Queens

Where Have all the Affordable Cities Gone?

Angie Schmitt follows up on an earlier report by the Citizen's Budget Commission that made an argument for the affordability of cities like New York City, with its large network of cheap transportation.

August 29, 2014 - Streetsblog USA

When it Comes to Seismic Safety, It's Each City for Itself

Buildings constructed of unreinforced masonry get much if not most of the media's attention on seismic safety, but so-called 'soft story' wood buildings, often with garages on the ground floor, compose the greatest numbers of vulnerable buildings.

August 28, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

How San Francisco Integrates Historic Rail Lines into its Transit System

San Francisco has managed to operate and integrate historic rail transit into its overall public transit system. Clement Lau explains how the City does it.

August 20, 2014 - UrbDeZine

San Francisco Parking

San Francisco's Housing Craze: More People Fewer Cars

Something strange is taking place in the City by the Bay. It's not just experiencing a growth in carless households—carless households are actually replacing those with cars.

August 18, 2014 - S.F. Streetsblog

Design By the Blind, for the Blind

Lamar Anderson tells the story of architect Chris Downey, who lost his eyesight six years ago but has persevered in his career first as a consultant and then as the lead architect for the new Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco.

August 14, 2014 - Curbed SF

Debate Continued: Supply vs Demand

Jim Russell is again taking to the pulpit to dissent from the popular view that supply problems are causing housing affordability crises in cities like New York and San Francisco.

August 14, 2014 - Pacific Standard

Plan B: Port of San Francisco Moves Forward with New Land Use Plan

Voters might not want big changes along San Francisco's waterfront—but one powerful agent there, the Port of San Francisco, is examining new ways to do the business of building in the face of pressures from sea level rise and opposition politics.

August 13, 2014 - SFGate

The Castro

Do Evolving Neighborhoods Mean Dissolving Communities?

Exploding housing costs and changing social attitudes are altering the demographics of established gay neighborhoods in several big cities. As communities become more fluid, do we risk losing their culture?

August 11, 2014 - Mark Hough

San Francisco Workers: Got Commuter Benefits?

San Francisco's Department of Environment will soon begin enforcing the city's mandatory commuter benefits program for the first time since the law's inception in 2009. Fines up to $500 may be levied for noncompliance after warning notices are sent.

August 10, 2014 - San Francisco Examiner

Lyft Line, UberPool: Carpooling Features to Compete with Mass Transit

A new tier of service for Lyft launched today, allowing customers traveling in the same direction to share a ride. The new product follows a similar release earlier this week by Uber.

August 7, 2014 - Forbes

Active Transit Projects 2013

Comparing Transit Ridership

Data journalism site FiveThirtyEight wades into the complex world of transit ridership data, looking for insights into which cities make use of robust transit systems, and which still have work to do.

August 4, 2014 - Five Thirty Eight

San Francisco Considering Property Tax Break for Urban Gardens

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering adopting an "Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone" policy to incentivize the development of urban gardens on empty lots (which actually do exist in San Francisco).

July 24, 2014 - KPIX

Treasure Island's Big Mixed-Use Developments Bring Transportation Improvements

Located between San Francisco and the East Bay, with harrowing on- and off-ramps for ingress and egress to the Bay Bridge, Treasure Island will soon add 8,000 homes, 500 hotel rooms, and 550,000 square feet of offices.

July 22, 2014 - SFGate

Studio Gang-Designed Tower Proposal Shows Need for Zoning Exceptions in San Francisco

The initial presentation of a 40-story tower, designed by Chicago architect Jeanne Gang, working for developer Tishman Speyer, prompted John King to argue in favor of the project. But will city planners and electeds grant the project an exception?

July 17, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

State Lands Commission Sues to Overturn San Francisco's Prop B

Not so fast, San Francisco Prop B (the approved measure requiring voter approval for projects exceeding height limits along the waterfront). The State Lands Commission has a legal bone to pick.

July 16, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

The Many Benefits of 'Level of Service' Reform

A long read by Eric Jaffe serves as a primer on the "Level of Service" (LOS) requirement in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as well as predicting the large impact of LOS reform on planning in the state and around the country.

July 9, 2014 - CityLab

Mudslinging over Parking Apps in San Francisco

A San Francisco city attorney spokesman used some colorful language in response to MonkeyParking's recent act of defiance against the city.

June 29, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

George Lucas Chooses Chicago for New Museum Site

Equal parts a stunning victory for Chicago and a breathtaking failure for San Francisco, "Star Wars" director George Lucas has selected Chicago as the site of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

June 25, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

San Francisco Parking

Monkey Parking is Monkey Business, Warns San Francisco City Attorney

A "cease-and-desist letter" was sent June 23 to MonkeyParking, a Rome-based tech startup that developed and markets an app that allows motorists to auction public parking spaces beginning at $5. The city attorney demanded shut-down by July 11.

June 25, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

SFPark Releases Data on Two-Year Pilot Phase

The SFPark two-year pilot has concluded, and the city recently released comprehensive data that make a good case for its success in almost every possible metric of parking management. Now can the city expand the program?

June 24, 2014 - S.F. Streetsblog

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.

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