Op-Ed: San Francisco's New Urban Design Guidelines Could Backfire

Design critic John King praises San Francisco's intent, but raises doubts about the effectiveness of a new set of urban design guidelines. "The inherent subjectivity of such standards could muddy the waters rather than lead to better buildings, which is what we really need."

The issues King raises are architectural; the guidelines don't impact density. The document "wouldn't affect the low-slung residential districts of the city, which have their own guidelines, and it wouldn't alter the height or bulk of what's allowed in the neighborhoods and commercial districts covered by the new guidelines."

Loopholes and vague language are the main worry. By trying to be all things to all people, the guidelines could backfire and become meaningless. "Part of the problem is that no document can defuse the perennial tension between San Franciscans who want new buildings to look as if they've been here all along, and those who want the city to be a contemporary showcase on par with Barcelona or Rotterdam."

On a deeper level, King worries that "standards that upgrade the sorriest proposed buildings also can be applied so joylessly and dutifully that imaginative architecture gets pressed into a predictable mold."