San Francisco

San Francisco View from Dolores Park

San Francisco Apartment Supply Catching up to Demand, If only Temporarily

If you can afford it, now would be a good time to move to San Francisco and rent in a new, high-end apartment building. Rents will still be among the highest in the country, but property owners are offering many perks.

June 16, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Public Wi-Fi

7 'Smart Cities Challenge' Proposals

The Washington Post details each of the seven proposals competing for $40 million in the U.S. Department of Transportation's Smart Cities Challenge.

June 14, 2016 - The Washington Post

Golden Gate

Bay Area Election Roundup: Wetlands, Housing, Ballot-Box Planning, Sales Tax

A regional measure to tax all property owners in the 9-county Bay Area to adapt to sea level rise passes; S.F. voters support raising the affordable housing bar; Richmond voters reject ballot-box planning; San José approves sales tax increase.

June 9, 2016 - Planetizen

Bus Lane

Yelp for Transit? San Francisco Will Give it a Shot

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will invite ratings from transit users via the existing MuniMobile app. That's brave.

June 7, 2016 - CityLab

Portland Weird

Is Portland the Next San Francisco?

Now that tech companies have "discovered" Portland, Oregon, longtime residents question whether the progressive city has done enough to protect them from displacement. Sound familiar?

June 1, 2016 - The Atlantic

Rental Apartments

Housing Crisis Leads to Renewed Support For Rent Control

As rents in the Bay Area have skyrocketed, cities are updating and introducing rent control ordinances. They are stoking age-old debates over the macroeconomic value of rent control.

June 1, 2016 - California Planning & Development Report

Dolores Park

Some Things Aren't for Sale in San Francisco's Dolores Park (Like Dolores Park)

Controversy struck the famously laissez-faire expanses of Dolores Park in San Francisco this week, after the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department launched, and then quickly rescinded, a program to rent park space.

May 27, 2016 - Sfist

San Francisco STreetcar

Uber Partners With San Francisco Landlord to Subsidize Car-Free Tenants

A large development in San Francisco would limit parking spaces by paying for its tenants to go car free. Uber is paying part of the bill.

May 18, 2016 - The Verge

San Francisco Homeless

30 San Francisco Media Outlets Collaborate on Homelessness

A media blitz scheduled for June 29, 2016 will offer an unprecedented display of "solutions-oriented journalism."

May 17, 2016 - The New York Times

London, Nightlife

London's New Mayor Finds Culture and Heritage in City's Nightlife

London's new Mayor Sadiq Khan joins a growing list of mayors who have become ardent advocates for their city's nightclubs.

May 16, 2016 - Thump

San Francisco Coit Tower Construction

When Does Inclusionary Zoning Go Too Far? San Francisco Might Find Out

In June, San Francisco voters will consider a ballot initiative that will raise the affordable housing requirement of the city's inclusionary zoning from 12 to 25 percent. Even housing advocates are concerned Proposition C might go too far.

May 12, 2016 - CityLab

SF Muni

San Francisco Transit Advocate Platform: Get Anywhere in 30 Minutes

Transit riders in the famously small city of San Francisco (in geographic size, anyway) have set a goal to design and build a system that makes it possible to travel between any two points in the city in 30 minutes or less.

May 9, 2016 - Hoodline

Pumping Gas

Gas Delivery Straight to Your Vehicle. What Could Go Wrong?

Cities and fire departments around the country are struggling with the sudden explosion of start-ups promising to make your life easier by delivering gasoline straight to your vehicle.

May 5, 2016 - Bloomberg

Transbay Terminal Construction

As Price Tag Skyrockets, S.F.'s Transbay Terminal Needs a Bailout

Phase 1 of a project described as the "Grand Central Station of the West" has almost doubled in cost since 2008. Now San Francisco County Supervisors are considering a bailout of the project.

May 4, 2016 - San Francisco Examiner

The Mission Mural Gentrification

Helping Beloved Non-Landmarks Weather Gentrification in San Francisco

San Francisco is starting a program to recognize and protect long-standing local businesses based on their community value, not architectural significance.

May 3, 2016 - New York Daily News

Presidio Park

San Francisco's New Park, Built Over a Viaduct

Designed by the same landscape architect behind New York City's High Line, a new park will cap San Francisco's Doyle Drive, connecting the Presidio to the shoreline.

May 2, 2016 - The Atlantic

San Francisco Parking

San Francisco Rethinks the Costs of Parking

The debate over the impacts of parking isn't new, but San Francisco planners are hoping that their approach to parking will provide new mobility solutions in a growing city.

April 28, 2016 - San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority

Facadism

Esoteric No More: Facadism Explained

Facadism is a critical concept for evaluating projects that rehabilitate, renovate, or redevelop historic structures—but it's often considered too esoteric for conversation. It's time we all got on the same page.

April 28, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Office Park

High Tech Embraces Suburban-Style Office Park Thinking

Critics claim tech companies such as Apple and Google are guilty of repeating past mistakes of urban development by creating suburban campuses that isolate themselves from the surrounding community.

April 26, 2016 - Collectors Weekly

How Bay Area Cities Are Dealing with the Housing Crunch

A booming-once-again tech sector and a rapidly increasing population in the Bay Area are aggravating a historically tight housing market. Preservation architect Jerri Holan looks at how Bay Area cities are dealing with the housing crunch.

April 22, 2016 - UrbDeZine

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.