San Francisco

Downtown Los Angeles

California's 15 Housing Bills Won't Do Enough

At a new affordable housing project in a low-income neighborhood of San Francisco, Gov. Brown signed the package Friday that places a $4 billion housing bond on the ballot next year, adds a $75 real estate transaction fee, and streamlines permitting.

October 2, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Nimitz Freeway

Bay Area Not Prepared for Next Big One

As the death toll from Mexico's 7.1 magnitude earthquake on Sept. 19 climbs above 300, the San Francisco Chronicle investigates how well prepared the Bay Area is for an earthquake of comparable magnitude. Not very well.

September 25, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Bay

Battle of the Bay: S.F. and Oakland Sue Oil Companies Over Sea Level Rise

Two California cities are going after oil companies with a legal argument that recalls the legislation against big tobacco companies in the 1990s.

September 22, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

Salesforce Tower and 181 Fremont

Facebook to Expand in San Francisco

While everyone's attention in recent weeks has been on Amazon, another huge tech company has made a big bet on San Francisco.

September 21, 2017 - San Francisco Business Times

San Francisco Houses

Coming to Terms With the Bay Area's Housing 'Death Spiral'

Prospects for solving the Bay Area's severe housing shortage look far off. Action on the state level may be one way to approach this crippling collective action problem.

September 12, 2017 - SPUR

San Francisco Construction

Considering the Street Level in San Francisco's New Urban District

In examining the question of whether a new high rise development in San Francisco achieves success at street level, John King picks up an age-old, but always relevant, debate.

September 10, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Construction

Connecting the Dots Between Air Pollution and Congestion

Some of the San Francisco neighborhoods with the worst air quality are also the San Francisco neighborhoods with the most development.

September 6, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco

Houston and San Francisco: Urban Development Patterns Gone Awry

With the media rightfully pointing to Houston's sprawling urban development patterns that exacerbated the epic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, Paul Krugman also finds fault with cities where urban development is too tightly regulated.

September 5, 2017 - The New York Times - Opinion

Muni

San Francisco's Muni Has a New $21 Billion, 20-Year Capital Plan

Some surprises and lots of blue-sky thinking are revealed in the new capital plan for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

August 15, 2017 - San Francisco Examiner

Market Street

$604 Million Makeover Coming to San Francisco's Market Street

The changes in store for the main corridor through San Francisco's central business district connect to a larger story about accessibility for people with disabilities.

August 12, 2017 - Next City

Ford GoBike

The New 'Mission Moratorium': Bikeshare

Neighborhood groups in the Mission District of San Francisco, already a hotbed of gentrification and displacement controversies, are opposing the expansion of the city's bikeshare system into a large, transit-adjacent area of the city.

August 10, 2017 - San Francisco Examiner

Marijuana

San Francisco Creates 'Office of Cannabis'

A "one-stop shop" for marijuana businesses will open in time for the statewide legalization of the industry this January.

August 3, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

California's Business-Friendly, Bipartisan Approach to Climate Change

Gov. Jerry Brown, accompanied by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, signed legislation to continue the cap-and-trade program initially authorized under a bill signed by his Republican predecessor 11 years ago at the same Treasure Island location.

July 27, 2017 - KQED News

San Francisco, California

Lawrence Halprin and the Public Realm: Can the United Nations Plaza Unite San Franciscans?

Since its inauguration in 1975, San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza has not served its intended purpose.

July 20, 2017 - Linda Day

BART Station

Why was BART's Ridership Forecast for Millbrae Station So Wildly Off-Base?

In 1995, planners forecasted that the Millbrae BART Station in San Mateo County, where riders can transfer to/from Caltrain, would attract 16,500 weekday riders. Fourteen years after it opened, ridership is 7,000. Planners were off by 58 percent.

July 16, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco, California

Density Debate Fills San Francisco's Balboa Reservoir

Developers, neighbors, and housing advocates are debating the fate of the Balboa Reservoir. Their visions for how many units should be built there range from 680 to 1,245.

July 12, 2017 - Beyond Chron

San Francisco Tunnel Boring Machine

San Francisco's $1.6 Billion Central Subway Project 10 Months Behind Schedule

The $1.6 billion Central Subway project will bring the first subway to San Francisco's Chinatown. After early funding and planning delays, construction had seemed to be moving along swiftly. Now the project is expected to be delayed by 10 months.

July 11, 2017 - San Francisco Examiner

Bike and Bus Lane

FHWA Greenlights More Red Lanes for Buses in San Francisco

The Federal Highway Administration approved 50 applications of red transit-only lanes to be painted throughout San Francisco. Already used on four streets in a pilot program, the lanes have proven effective but are opposed by some business owners.

July 6, 2017 - San Francisco Examiner

Tent City Bay Area

Homelessness a Growing Issue in San Francisco Suburbs

Across the nation, suburban homeless populations are growing. Many of these communities are unprepared to shelter or serve these growing populations.

July 3, 2017 - KQED

Caltrain

Three Bay Area Counties May Decide Whether to Support Caltrain with Sales Tax Measure

The oldest commuter rail line west of the Mississippi is also unique in another way—it lacks a dedicated source of operating revenue. Legislation has been introduced to allow Peninsula counties to vote to increase sales taxes by 0.125 percent.

June 26, 2017 - The Daily Journal

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.