San Francisco

SF Cable Cars

Milken Institute Ranks 2014's 'Best Performing Cities'

The Milken's Institute report ranked San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City at the top of the performance index for the first time in the list's 15-year history.

January 9, 2015 - CityLab

The Potential Downside of Railroad Electrification—for Motorists

Electrification of the Caltrain will be great for train riders, the environment, air quality, and public health, but it might worsen traffic congestion between San Jose and San Francisco by increasing the frequency of commuter trains.

January 9, 2015 - San Jose Mercury News

Friday Funny: Critics Skewer High-Rise-with-a-Mouth in San Francisco

Kriston Capps shares the creative work of a couple of arm-chair architecture critics who took to Photoshop to express their opinions about the Snøhetta-designed tower proposed for One Van Ness in San Francisco.

January 9, 2015 - CityLab

Report: San Francisco's City Parks Worth $959 Million

The Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence released a report placing the value of San Francisco's park system at $959 million.

January 7, 2015 - City Parks Blog

A Case Study of San Francisco's Evolution—at 10th and Mission

San Francisco Chronicle Architecture Critic John King dives into the economic and planning dynamics behind the remarkable transformation of 10th and Mission in San Francisco.

January 3, 2015 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Belden Place

Four Cities Making the Most of Alley Spaces

Urbanful examines four cities making the most of scare public spaces by reactivating their alleys with programming and pedestrian-friendly designs.

December 30, 2014 - Urbanful

Op-Ed: Time for the Bay Area to Embrace Regional Planning

An op-ed by the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board takes cues from London's regional transportation planning efforts in an argument supporting regional planning for the San Francisco-San Jose Bay Area.

December 29, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Polk Street Bikes

Is America's Best Bike Lane Overrated?

The SF Examiner reports on America's top-rated bike lane, as rated by People for Bikes. The protected contraflow lane runs from Market Street to Grove Street, all of two blocks; only one block in opposite direction is separated

December 27, 2014 - San Francisco Examiner

Critical Support for New NBA Arena Proposal in San Francisco

After controversy derailed an earlier plan by the Golden State Warriors to build a new arena at Piers 30-32 along the Embarcadero in San Francisco, a new plan at a new location has made progress toward completion.

December 26, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Busy Crossing Street

Big Cities Make Pedestrian Safety a Priority

New data released Dec. 19 by NHTSA shows increased safety for those traveling by car, but pedestrian fatalities are 15% higher than in 2009. Plans by San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago to increase ped safety are described by the WSJ.

December 22, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

San Francisco Chronicle Takes a Deep Look at Gentrification in the Mission

A feature series by the San Francisco Chronicle explores the challenges of gentrification at what some might consider ground zero of gentrification in the San Francisco Bay Area—the Mission.

December 22, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

A Housing Affordability Report Card for the Bay Area

SPUR didn't give a grade to the Bay Area on housing affordability in its most recent issue of The Urbanist, but it does provide a thorough overview of the current and ongoing efforts to make housing more affordable in the region.

December 20, 2014 - The Urbanist

Woman in Bike Lane, Toronto, Canada

The Top Bike Lane Projects of 2014

Bike lanes are hot right now in cities all over the country. As more and more cities build more and more miles of bike infrastructure, which projects are exemplary?

December 19, 2014 - People for Bikes

Tough Week for Uber on the West Coast—Three Cities File Injunctions

Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland all filed suit against Uber recently hoping to bring the transportation network company in conformity with public safety regulations.

December 12, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

High Line Designer Tapped for 'Presidio Point' Project in San Francisco

The landscape architecture firm behind the High Line in New York City has been awarded another high-profile contract—this time for "Presidio Point," overlooking Crissy Field in San Francisco.

December 11, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Complete Street Makeover in the Works for 2nd Street in San Francisco

Planners in San Francisco are working on a complete street redo of a key corridor through the SoMa neighborhood that will connect downtown, Mission Bay, and the Central Waterfront.

December 5, 2014 - Socket Site

San Francisco Planners Study Extension of Central Subway to Fisherman's Wharf

San Francisco is hard at work on a Central Subway project expected to open in 2019 with a terminus in Chinatown, but planners have already been hard at work studying an extension of the subway to Fisherman's Wharf.

December 3, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Legislation Proposed to Ban Sidewalk Tolls on Golden Gate Bridge

If two assembly members from San Francisco and Marin counties have their way, pedestrians and bikers on the Golden Gate Bridge will not be tolled as if they were in a motor vehicle.

December 1, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Bus-Friendly Signaling, Bulbouts Coming to Haight Street in San Francisco

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority approved a collection of changes to San Francisco's famous Haight Street. The proposal provoked political debate that expresses the complexity of multi-modal transportation planning.

November 26, 2014 - S.F. Streetsblog

Friday Eye Candy: SPUR's Urban Cartography Exhibit

Allison Arieff provides a glimpse to the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research's new exhibit featuring interesting maps of the San Francisco Bay Area.

November 21, 2014 - Medium

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.