We are working hard to reclaim our public spaces and ensure privately-owned places are still welcoming to everyone. Public rights-of-way – streets and alleyways – make up about a quarter of San Francisco’s land area. Projects that reclaim alleyways as neighborhood-serving public places with greening, traffic-calming, and pedestrianization are moving forward in 2015. Living Alleys, also known as woonerfs,…
For many decades, transportation planning in San Francisco was focused almost entirely on the automobile, and walking, cycling, and public transit were marginalized. We need to put sustainable modes at the center of our transportation plans, and replace “predict and provide” models of traffic and parking planning with ones that take into account the potential…
Livable City’s Livable Downtown Initiative seeks to make Downtown San Francisco a more vital, sustainable, and livable place. It has been over twenty years since the city’s landmark Downtown Plan was adopted. The Downtown plan set out to create a vital downtown office and shopping district oriented to walking and public transit. The vision of…
Although sprawling, the overwhelming majority of Bay Area residents have convenient access to sustainable modes of transit. A major hurdle for many potential users is the short distance between home and transit, and again between work and transit. These first and last mile challenges keep many people who either live or work in transit poor…
1955: San Francisco established its first residential parking space requirements of one space for each newly created dwelling unit. 1960: Revisions to the Planning Code were adopted which continued the residential requirement but allowed one of the required spaces to be a tandem space, and added requirements for commercial and industrial off street parking and…
The goal of the Greenway Network Initiative is to create a citywide network of landscaped boulevards, green streets, and linear parks which link the city’s neighborhoods to one another and to the major parks, wildlife corridors, waterfront, and public transit hubs. The Network will serve as sustainable transportation infrastructure (walking, bicycling, and public transit), and provide…
In a city where housing is increasingly scarce and expensive, and where commercial rents are skyrocketing, converting garage spaces to new housing and storefronts can help make space for residents and neighborhood-serving small businesses. Converting garages can also improve neighborhood livability by restoring features like front gardens, green backyards, front porches, storefronts, building lobbies, street trees, and even…
Please join Livable City for our annual Livability Awards on June 1 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Public Works SF in the Mission. This event is an opportunity for Livable City to recognize innovators, advocates, and public servants for their leadership and accomplishments and celebrate with our amazing members and friends. Enjoy an open bar,…
On April 21, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the designation of five Priority Conservation Areas (PCAs) in San Francisco. Priority Conservation Areas are Bay Area open spaces that “provide regionally significant agricultural, natural resource, scenic, recreational, and/or ecological values and ecosystem functions; are in urgent need of protection due to pressure from urban development or…
Livable City has long championed legalizing the addition of new apartments, known as accessory dwelling units or in-law units, to existing buildings. As we explained back in December: Adding housing to existing buildings is great way to add housing to neighborhoods while preserving their character and history. Adding housing to existing buildings is greener – the energy…
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