Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Urban Design

Back to the Grid: John Norquist on How to Fix National Transpo Policy

By Ben Fried | Mar 26, 2009 | 2 Comments

How can federal policy encourage walkable street networks instead of highways and sprawl? Image: CNU The news coming out of Washington last week jacked up expectations for national transportation policy to new heights. Cabinet members Ray LaHood and Shaun Donovan announced a partnership to connect transportation and housing policy, branded as the "Sustainable Communities Initiative." […]

17th Street Closure Will Be First NYC-style Plaza in San Francisco

By Matthew Roth | Mar 25, 2009 | 51 Comments

The future site of a pedestrian plaza at 17th and Market Streets Don’t look now, but NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan’s magic may have rubbed off on DPW Director Ed Reiskin, to San Francisco’s benefit. Reiskin has been leading a multi-agency effort to close a small portion of 17th Street where it meets Market Street […]

San Francisco’s Unbuilt Freeway Network Revisited

By Matthew Roth | Mar 23, 2009 | 10 Comments

Some of San Francisco’s unbuilt freeways Hunter College student and photographer Andrew Lynch recently posted Google Map mashups of the unbuilt freeways that made up many of the master plans in cities around the country in the 1950s and 1960s. San Francisco, New York City, and Boston avoided the worst of automobility, while the map […]

DOT and HUD: Transportation and Land-Use Planning Should Prioritize TOD

By Matthew Roth | Mar 18, 2009 | 1 Comment

Sacramento sprawl swallowing farm land It’s a good day to talk about the costs of car ownership on individuals and families and the need to integrate transportation and land use planning regionally. The New York Times Wheels blog today has posted a piece that tries to quantify the costs of car ownership and it is […]

Do We Have to Wait for the Next Mayor for a Car-free Market Street?

By Matthew Roth | Mar 9, 2009 | 10 Comments

Mona Caron’s interpretation of a 21st Century Market Street How hard is it to fix the most important street in San Francisco, one that is vital to transit, that is the spine of the bicycle network, and that could be the crowning jewel of the city, a Champs d’Elysee or a newly pedestrianized Broadway? Without […]

State Senator Takes on Parking Requirements

By Damien Newton | Mar 3, 2009 | 3 Comments

Last week, State Senator Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) introduced legislation that takes aim at how California’s municipalities think about parking and parking requirements. What SB 518 (PDF) is missing in co-sponsors it makes up for in chutzpah. If enacted, the legislation would require that every municipality in the state earn at least "20 points" in […]

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