San Francisco – Sunday Streets 2019 season concludes in the Excelsior on October 20 from 11am-4pm, when Mission Street from Silver to Geneva Avenue becomes a temporary park and brings a season of open space to a close. The celebration includes free pedicab rides for seniors and people with disabilities, and the Rose Ann Harris Pet Parade will honor the beloved neighborhood activist and animal lover.
Funded through a community action grant from the Excelsior Collaborative, the pedicabs will offer free rides for seniors and people with disabilities to tour the car-free route. Known for its high percentage of multi-generational families, the median age in the Excelsior is nine percent higher than the San Francisco average.
Along the car-free route, the SF Public Library’s Excelsior Branch will hold their Tricycle Music Fest featuring The Alphabet Rockers and Flying Angels Chinese dance troupe. At the southern end, dance in the streets to live music onstage from the Excelsior Outer Mission Merchants Association’s (EOMM). Visit Activity Hubs at Cotter, France and the Persia Triangle, where residents of all ages can experience a pop-up community park.
At France Street, enjoy a Market Square and Picnic Grounds, and pick up a Common Cents Passport at a Sunday Streets Info Booth to get stamped (and win prizes from!) local businesses. Keep the fun going with the Explore Local Guide, featuring neighborhood organizations, art spaces and small businesses treasures, available at Info Booths. All programs are funded through the Office of Economic and Workforce Development’s (OEWD) Invest in Neighborhoods (IIN) programs.
Project experts from SFMTA and Vision Zero will be on hand throughout the season, providing neighborhood residents and visitors direct access to transit planners and ambassadors dedicated to sustainable streets in the Excelsior.
The Sunday Streets 2019 season is made possible by the following season sponsors: Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), San Francisco Department of Children, Youth & Their Families (DCYF), Mission Housing Development Corporation, San Francisco Department of Public Works (SFPUC), Genentech, Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), Sutter/CPMC, Baywheels, Clif Kid, iHeartMedia, Skip, Sutter/CPMC, iHeart Media, Jump Bikes and Xfinity/Comcast and event sponsors The Excelsior Collaborative and Boosted
About Sunday Streets
Sunday Streets is a program of the nonprofit Livable City, presented in partnership with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the San Francisco Department of Public Health and the Shape Up SF Coalition. Additional City support comes from the Department of Public Works, Recreation & Parks Department, SF Police Department, SF County Transportation Authority, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and her offices and the SF Board of Supervisors.
For more information about Sunday Streets, including the Sunday Streets event activity guide, visit: www.SundayStreetsSF.com. For information on Muni routes and vehicle access, call 511 or go to www.sfmta.com
Vote for a more livable city in the Tuesday, November 5 San Francisco municipal election! Though the ballot may be short this year, there are still key issue to vote on, from housing to transportation.
Proposition A is a $600 million general-obligation bond that funds permanently affordable housing in San Francisco. It provides:
$150 million for public housing.
$220 million for low-income housing,
$60 million for middle-income housing and housing preservation,
$150 million for senior housing, and
$20 million for educator housing.
Yeson Proposition D
Proposition D establishes a business tax on Uber and Lyft trips in San Francisco, and dedicates the funds to improving Muni, walking and cycling.
Yes on Proposition E
Proposition E amends the City’s Planning Code to streamline planning approval of 100% affordable housing and educator housing, and permit affordable housing and educator housing on sites zoned for Public uses, including public school sites.
San Francisco – On September 22, over a mile of streets on Fillmore, Fulton and Baker open up for the community to play, shop local and explore from 11 am to 4 pm at Sunday Streets Western Addition. Besides open space, the event will feature a market square showcasing Western Addition cottage industries and the Dr. George W Davis Senior Center’s famous BBQ – usually only available once a year at the Black Cuisine Festival at their center in the Bayview.
Besides a mile
of car-free streets showcasing all the corridor has to offer, Sunday Streets
will fill lower Fillmore Street with three live music stages, family-friendly free
activities, and health screenings. Head to the Family Discovery Zone for a Play
Streets pop-up, Mobile Rec and Park’s climbing wall and a giant Lego build with
the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF). At the Livability
Pavilion on Fillmore, a wide variety of City agencies will create a
one-stop-shop for residents to get connected to health and government resources.
At the Turk and
Fillmore Mini Park, El Bethel AME Church will conduct outdoor service for
Sunday worship. Free bike and scooter rentals provide an opportunity to roll
down the mile-long route, which extends to Alamo Square. Project Experts from
the SFMTA – a primary sponsor of Sunday Streets – will be on hand on to
answer questions about safety improvements in the area.
Neighborhood
residents and visitors can enjoy direct access to transit planners and
ambassadors dedicated to sustainable streets.
“This upcoming Sunday Streets provides a great
opportunity for families, neighbors and visitors to explore the
Fillmore, support the diversity of local merchants, and enjoy the festivities,”
said Joaquín Torres, Director of the Office of Economic and Workforce
Development. “OEWD is proud to partner with Livable City to bring people
together in celebration of the rich history and vibrant culture of the
Western Addition. We encourage everyone to come out and enjoy
Sunday Streets offers a variety of ways to engage with, support
and discover local businesses and services. Go on a scavenger hunt with the
Common Cents Passport and get stamped at nearby businesses and Sunday Streets
Information Booths to qualify to win prizes. Pick up a copy of the Explore Local
Guide, a reusable map of the neighborhood’s open spaces, resources and shops.
Sunday Streets volunteers will enjoy lunch provided by local businesses like
Folklores Coffee Traders.
Don’t miss one
of your last chances this season to see city streets transformed into car-free
space for all at Sunday Streets Western Addition.
Sunday Streets 2019 Season Schedule
March 10 – Mission 1
March 31 – Excelsior 1
April 14 – Tenderloin 1
May 5 – Bayview/Dogpatch
June 9 – Sunset/GGP
July 14 – Mission 2
August 18 – SoMa
September 8 – Tenderloin 2
September 22 – Western
Addition
October 20 – Excelsior 2
The Sunday Streets 2019 season is made possible by the
following season sponsors: Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), San Francisco
Department of Children, Youth & Their Families (DCYF), Mission Housing
Development Corporation, San Francisco Department of Public Works (SFPUC),
Genentech, Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), Sutter/CPMC,
Baywheels, iHeartMedia, Skip, Sutter/CPMC, iHeart Media, Jump Bikes, SPIN, and
Xfinity/Comcast and Supporting Sponsors
Kaiser Permanente
About Sunday Streets
Sunday Streets
is a program of the nonprofit Livable City, presented in partnership with the
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the San Francisco Department
of Public Health and the Shape Up SF Coalition. Additional City support comes
from the Department of Public Works, Recreation & Parks Department, SF
Police Department, SF County Transportation Authority, San Francisco Mayor
London Breed and her offices and the SF Board of Supervisors.
About Livable City
Livable City is dedicated to increasing
affordable housing, improving transportation, land use, open space, and
environmental policies, and supporting grassroots initiatives to make San
Francisco a safer, healthier, and more accessible city.
For more
information about Sunday Streets, including the Sunday Streets event activity
guide, visit: www.SundayStreetsSF.com. For information on Muni routes and
vehicle access, call 511 or go to www.sfmta.com
Seniors and People with Disabilities Take Over Civic Center for the First Annual “Getting There Together” Celebration on September 8
San Francisco – On September 8, join Senator Scott Wiener, Supervisor Gordon Mar and hundreds of seniors and people with disabilities for “Getting There Together: A Celebration of All Ages and Abilities” at Civic Center from 11 am to 4 pm.
Featuring performances by Marc Brew and Yuko Monden Juma of AXIS Dance Company, a 300+ person choir of older adults, all-abilities fitness classes, and a resource fair, the event will transform Civic Center into a celebration of seniors and people with disabilities. A stage on the Fulton Street steps of the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch will provide the backdrop for this unique event in the heart of the city.
What: Getting There Together: A Celebration of All Ages and Abilities
When: Sunday, September 8, 11am-4pm
Where: Civic Center, San Francisco (Larkin & Fulton Streets)
Who:
Speaking Program (11:30 am): Senator Scott Wiener; Supervisor Gordon Mar; Supervisor Norman Yee; Shireen McSpadden, Executive Director of SF Dept of Aging and Adult Services; Nancy McPherson, AARP State Director
Main Stage (11:00 am – 3:30 pm): AXIS Dance Company, Community Music Center Older Adult Choir (300+ singers); Dr. Mwanza and Chocolate Medicine; Kotobuki Taiko; and more
Visuals:
Electeds and City officials on Main Stage during 11:30 speaking program
Dancers, singers, and musicians of all ages and abilities, performing on the Main Stage
300+ person choir (1:00 pm)
Older adults and people with disabilities taking fitness classes, playing games, making art
11:55 am: AXIS Dance Company (Marc Brew and Yuko Monden Juma)
12:10 pm: Curry Senior Center’s Samahang Pinoy
12:30 pm: Sunny Line Dance Group
1:00 pm: Community Music Center’s Older Adult Choirs — 300+ singers!
1:45 pm: Los Rumberos de MNC
1:55 pm: Dr. George W. Davis Steel Drum Band
2:15 pm: Zach K
2:25 pm: Richmond Senior Center Dancers
2:40 pm: Wake-up Call by Sounds from the Ground Drumming Group
3:00 pm: Dr. Mwanza and Chocolate Medicine
All Abilities Gymnasium:
11:00 am: Line dancing with Allen Isidro
11:30 am: Brain/Body Fitness with Dianna Rowley (BORP)
12:00 pm: Always Active Senior Fitness with Genny Pinzon
12:30 pm: Bollywood Dance Fitness with Shruthi Reddy
1:00 pm: Chair Yoga with Armando Luna
1:30 pm: Hip Hop Fitness with Carah Herring
2:00 pm: Body of Sound with Alyssa DeCaro
2:30 pm: Always Active Senior Fitness with Genny Pinzon
3:00 pm: Dance Fitness/Dance Party with Dianna Rowley (BORP)
~ ~ ~
Getting There Together is presented by CASE (the Coalition of Agencies Serving the Elderly), in partnership with Livable City/Sunday Streets, the San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services, the Dignity Fund Coalition, and Age & Disability Friendly SF.
The event is taking place in conjunction with Sunday Streets Tenderloin.
The Coalition of Agencies Serving the Elderly (CASE) is a nonprofit organization of agencies and individuals who are committed to protecting and enhancing services to older adults and adults with disabilities in San Francisco. CASE leads advocacy efforts to protect and increase funding for community-based senior services in the San Francisco city budget, and inform and educate decision-makers and the community about the importance of supporting services to seniors. For more information about CASE, visit www.sfcase.org.
Sunday Streets is San Francisco’s open streets program run by the nonprofit Livable City in partnership with the SFMTA, SFDH and the City and County of San Francisco. Currently in its 11th season, Sunday Streets San Francisco serves 100,000 San Franciscans of all ages and abilities with free recreation and open space during 10 annual events held citywide. Visit www.livablecity.org and www.SundayStreetsSF.com for more information.
San Francisco – San Francisco’s open streets program, Sunday Streets, returns to the Tenderloin and Civic Center on September 8 from 11am-4pm, transforming a neighborhood suffering from the city’s highest percentage of pedestrian fatalities into a safe, open space for all. Twenty-three people have already been killed in traffic this year – as many as in all of 2018. Many of these deaths have occurred in the Tenderloin, including a 79-year-old woman recently killed at Fifth and Market Streets.
“Twice a year, Sunday
Streets brings safe open space to the Tenderloin so that kids can ride bikes,
neighbors can meet, and people of all abilities can take over the streets,”
said Supervisor Matt Haney. “The neighborhood is identified by Vision
Zero as the most dangerous in the city for
pedestrians, so it’s important to reimagine our streets as spaces for community
– and get a chance to see them in a whole new way.”
Seniors make up 15
percent of San Francisco’s population, but comprise 50 percent of pedestrian
fatalities. Though the Tenderloin
has some of the lowest rates of car ownership in the city, it’s full of
high-injury corridors, where seniors and people with disabilities are
especially at risk of being severely injured by cars.
That’s why the inaugural Getting There Together: A Celebration of All Ages and
Abilities
is so important. In conjunction with Sunday Streets Tenderloin, Livable City is
teaming up with the Coalition of Agencies Serving the Elderly to transform
Civic Center into a car-free party and resource fair for seniors and people
with disabilities. The event with feature an Interactive
Resource Fair, an All Abilities Open Air Gymnasium with fitness classes, and a
Main Stage with performances.
The Main Stage will
be a literal platform for local seniors and people with disabilities to share
their musical talents. Kotobuki
Taiko will kick off the day with their energetic, high-powered
drumming. Marc Brew, the Artistic Director and Choreographer of the
amazing AXIS
Dance Company, will give
a solo performance at 12 noon. At 1:00 pm, over 300 members from Community
Music Center’s Older Adult Choirs from all over San
Francisco will come together to perform a range of music, singing in Spanish,
Tagalog, and English, highlighting the rich traditions of their respective
neighborhoods.
In addition to the
fantastic family-friendly activities at Getting There Together, the mile-long Sunday
Streets route will feature even more live musical performances, a Play Streets
pop-up, and a climbing wall for kids. As a primary sponsor of all Sunday
Streets events, the SFMTA will be on hand on to answer questions about
safety improvements in the area, giving residents and visitors direct access to
transit planners and ambassadors dedicated to sustainable streets. And don’t forget to pick up the Explore Local Guide for a fun map of the Tenderloin to use all year
long.
Inspired by
the Ciclovía in Bogotá, Colombia, Sunday Streets is a series of free, fun open
street events empowering local communities to transform one to four miles of
car-congested streets into car-free community spaces for kids to play, seniors
to stroll, organizations to connect, and neighbors to meet. Over a
mile of cultural performances, health resources, live music, and open space
provides free opportunities for all at ten yearly events.
Nonprofit
Livable City runs both Sunday Streets and Play Streets, a program empowering
neighbors to transform their block into an accessible, car-free open space on a
regular basis. Both programs are sponsored by the SFMTA and other
City agencies, and Sunday Streets would not be possible without crucial services
like Muni bus re-routing or traffic control officers for public safety.
Project
experts from SFMTA and Vision Zero will be on hand throughout the season,
providing neighborhood residents and visitors direct access to transit planners
and ambassadors dedicated to sustainable streets.
Small
businesses, residents, nonprofits, and local groups bring activities,
volunteers, and performances to the car-free routes, with each contributing a
distinctive character and energy to the day. Livable City’s local hire program
employs San Francisco residents for outreach and event-day support.
Transforming
miles of car-dominated city streets into open space is possible through the
collaboration and hard work of hundreds of volunteers, neighbors, nonprofits,
and small businesses. Donate, exhibit, volunteer, or sponsor Sunday Streets in
2019 to be part of a sustainable, greener, and more accessible future. For more
information, visit www.SundayStreetsSF.com.
Sunday
Streets 2019 Season Schedule
March 10
– Mission 1
March 31
– Excelsior 1
April 14 –
Tenderloin 1
May 5 –
Bayview/Dogpatch
June 9 – Sunset/GGP
July 14 – Mission 2
August
18 – SoMa
September
8 – Tenderloin 2
September
22 – Western Addition
October
20 – Excelsior 2
The Sunday Streets 2019 season is made
possible by the following season sponsors: Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), San
Francisco Department of Children, Youth & Their Families (DCYF), Mission
Housing Development Corporation, San Francisco Department of Public Works
(SFPUC), Genentech, Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD),
Sutter/CPMC, Baywheels, iHeartMedia, Skip, Sutter/CPMC, iHeart Media, Jump
Bikes, SPIN, and Xfinity/Comcast and Supporting
Sponsors Wu Yee Children’s Services, Dolby, Asian Art Museum, and SF Public
Library.
About Sunday Streets
Sunday
Streets is a program of the nonprofit Livable City, presented in partnership
with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the San Francisco
Department of Public Health and the Shape Up SF Coalition. Additional City
support comes from the Department of Public Works, Recreation & Parks
Department, SF Police Department, SF County Transportation Authority, San
Francisco Mayor London Breed and her offices and the SF Board of Supervisors.
About Livable City
Livable
City is dedicated to increasing affordable housing, improving transportation,
land use, open space, and environmental policies, and supporting grassroots
initiatives to make San Francisco a safer, healthier, and more accessible city.
For more information on Livable City, visit:www.livablecity.org. For
more information about Sunday Streets, including the Sunday Streets event
activity guide, visit: www.SundayStreetsSF.com. For
information on Muni routes and vehicle access, call 511 or go to www.sfmta.com.
We are in the midst of a growing global ecological crisis. Heat waves, droughts, floods, highly destructive storms, and rising seas caused or worsened by global heating increasingly dominate the news. Global emissions of greenhouse gases are still increasing each year. More experts are saying we have very little time to start reducing emissions before the damage we’re doing is irreversible and threatens human survival.
And climate isn’t the only existential crisis. There is an unprecedented and accelerating loss of biodiversity and its ecosystem services – “the many and varied benefits that humans freely gain from the natural environment and from properly-functioning ecosystems”. Earlier this year, the UN warned that this loss is threatening one million species with extinction, and endangering human prospects as well.
Pollinators are in decline worldwide, threatening the food supply. An estimated seven million people per year die prematurely from air pollution. After improving for many years, air quality in the US is once again worsening. More cities and regions are running out of drinkable water. These global crises are linked, and mutually reinforcing.
Recently, San Francisco has taken steps to address some of the pressing global environmental challenges. The Board of Supervisors declared a Climate Emergency, directing City agencies to take action. Last year, the Board adopted a biodiversity policy. CleanPowerSF offers 100% renewable electricity to thousands of San Francisco households and businesses.
San Francisco has stronger policies, and some demonstrable successes – from recycling to habitat restoration. However, the city’s progress towards sustainability remains slow, uneven, and poorly understood. This article and the ones that follow will lay out a path to a sustainable San Francisco. Our sustainable path must also increase the City’s resilience – our ability to withstand the upcoming environmental shocks – be equitable, transparent, and democratic, and further San Franciscans’ health and happiness.
Defining sustainability
The most succinct definition of sustainability is by Donella Meadows. It first appeared in the 1987 report of the International Commission on Environment and Development: “to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Meadows cited Herman Daly to describe what that means in physical terms:
Renewable resources [soils, forests, fisheries, fresh water, etc.] shall not be used faster than they can regenerate.
Pollution and wastes shall not be put into the environment faster than the environment can recycle them or render them harmless.
Nonrenewable resources shall not be used faster than renewable substitutes (used sustainably) can be developed.
Meadows also stressed that ecological sustainability was only half of sustainable development; the other essential element is meeting human needs. Sustainable development must “keep the welfare of both humans and the environment in focus at the same time, and . . . insist on both.” For Meadows, the social and ethical dimensions were integral, and the conditions of sustainability “have to be met through processes that are democratic and equitable enough that people will stand for them.”
The Path to Sustainability
In describing sustainable development, Meadows observed that “there’s not a nation, a company, a city, a farm, or a household on earth that is sustainable.”
The trajectory of environmental responsibility, leading from business as usual or conventional practice through green approaches to sustainability, and beyond sustainability to restorative and regenerative life-ways.
So if there is no alternative to sustainability that doesn’t lead to planetary disaster, then how do we get there? As Bill Reed, Daniel Christian Wahl and others explain, progress towards sustainability typically goes through three stages.
After moving from business as usual, the next step is through “green approaches”, which minimize environmental damage in one or more areas, to sustainability, and even beyond.
Green approaches can be considered “steps in the right direction” and may include everything from compostable single-use products to the process of recycling itself. These approaches are less bad, by a little or a lot, than business as usual.
Sustainable is, in the words of William McDonough, “100% less bad”. Various tools and methods for moving towards sustainability and measuring progress have been developed in recent years; we’ll explore them further in a future post.
Planetary Boundaries, as defined by the Stockholm Resilience Centre. The dotted circle represents the safe operating space for humanity. Human activities have crossed four planetary boundaries – climate change, the phosphorus and nitrogen cycles, human changes to the land system, and biodiversity loss and extinction.
For the last two decades, the Stockholm Resilience Centre have been working to define planetary boundaries. Planetary boundaries are the limits to which humans can alter the critical life systems on the planet without endangering the integrity of those systems, and our survival. Staying within these limits defines the ‘safe operating space for humanity’.
Economist Kate Raworth combines the insights of ecologists like Meadows and Daly and the planetary boundaries into Donut Economics. The twelve dimensions of Raworth’s social foundation are based on the UN’s 2015 Sustainable Development Goals.
Kate Raworth’s Donut Economics. The dark green inner ring represents the social foundation for human health and happiness; shortfalls in the social foundation mean that basic human needs aren’t getting met. The outer green ring represents the ecological ceiling, beyond which we threaten ourselves with ecological catastrophe. A healthy and sustainable human culture lies between the two – in the donut.
Like Meadows, donut economics focuses on the welfare of both Like Meadows, donut economics focuses on the welfare of both people and the environment. Providing the social foundation for the one billion humans whose most essential needs are currently unmet is, according to Raworth, not a big challenge to sustainability.
13% of people currently don’t have enough food to eat, but their needs could be met with around 3% of today’s global food supply – about one-tenth of the food that is wasted or thrown away each year. Basic electricity could be provided to the 19% of people without electricity access with just a 1% increase in global CO2 emissions. It would take less than 0.2% of global income to lift the 19% of people who earn less than $1.25 a day out of extreme poverty.
The greater challenge is sustaining the resource-intensive lifestyles of the most affluent – the 11% of people, including most Americans, who produce about half the world’s carbon emissions.
Like the planetary boundaries, sustaining the social foundation – access to energy, water, food, education, health and health care, income and work, social networks, peace and justice, a political voice, social equity, and gender equality – requires governments to devise better measures and specific strategies. We’ll return to the importance of those measures and strategies in a later post.
The promise and pitfalls of Green
While true sustainability is still relatively rare, we are surrounded by products, activities, and processes labeled “green”. Many – like LEED ratings for green buildings – are an improvement, big or small, over business as usual. We can also make environmental progress by changing business as usual; California’s building energy efficiency standards, known as Title 24, were adopted in 1978 and are updated every few years.
Racheting up the minimum standards for new construction and renovations have helped reduce business and household use of energy and water. The state estimates that homes built to the 2019 standards will use 7% less energy than those built to the 2015 standard, and 53% less when required rooftop solar electrical generation is factored in.
Green approaches also have pitfalls. One of them is greenwashing – deceptively promoting products, activities, or policies as environmentally-friendly when they actually increase harm. A recent example is the growing crisis around plastics recycling. Fossil fuels – oil, natural gas, and coal – account for 99% of what goes into making plastic. As the use of plastics, particularly single-use plastics, has increased, governments and the plastics industry encouraged plastics recycling.
Recycling plastics seems far less damaging than incinerating plastics or burying them in a landfill, and cities like San Francisco prided themselves on the tonnage of plastics diverted from landfills, and even counted landfill diversion towards their greenhouse gas reduction goals. The problem with plastics recycling is that most plastic can’t actually be recycled; much of what is called plastics recycling is actually downcycling.
Downcycled materials, like second-generation plastics, are typically of lower quality and functionality than the original material, so a plastic water bottle might end up in a speed bump or a park bench but is unlikely to end up as a new water bottle. Only 9% of plastics worldwide are collected for recycling, and the majority of plastics collected for recycling won’t be recycled, or even downcycled. China’s refusal to accept the US’ plastic trash has caused plastics to pile up in recycling centers; most if it will likely be burned, end up in landfills, be illegally dumped, or get shipped to poor countries where much of it will still be burned or dumped.
Tiny bits of plastic, known as microplastics, are an increasing danger to human health, since they can find their way into our bodies, and even our bloodstream. Recycling plastics – for example, turning milk bottles into plastic fabric – can actually increase exposure microplastics pollution. Plastics recycling has turned out to be more of a dead end than a path to sustainability.
One thing plastics recycling did do is make people feel better about consuming ever-increasing amounts of plastic. Plastic production continues to increase exponentially; over half the plastics produced in human history have been produced since 2000.
What if we had been unwilling to accept the dubious ‘less bad’ arguments made for plastics recycling, and insisted on a more sustainable path? A better solution would phase out the use of fossil-fuel based, non-compostable or non-recyclable plastics, and reduce use of throwaway plastics. Countries around the world have done this for single-use plastic bags, as has San Francisco by banning plastic water bottle sales on city property.
There are other examples of how ‘less bad’ approaches can actually move us further from sustainability; we’ll explore those pitfalls, and how get back on a sustainable path, in future posts.
UNDISCOVERED at Sunday Streets SoMa 2018 by Young Chau
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Mary Strope, Communications Manager O (415) 344-0489 [email protected]
**PRESS RELEASE** Undiscovered Night Market Brings Island Vibes to Sunday Streets SoMa on August 18 and Honors Local Hero and Olympian Victoria Manalo Draves
San Francisco – For the second year, nonprofit Livable City is partnering with UNDISCOVERED SF Creative Night Market to bring third-wave Filipino food, live music, vendors and art to Sunday Streets SoMa on August 18 from 11am- 4pm. UNDISCOVERED will take over Folsom from 6th to 7th Street, transforming a street usually filled with car traffic into an open space with activities, performance and a celebration of the neighborhood’s Filipino community.
Though open streets program Sunday Streets does not typically host vendors, the partnership between the two community-focused organizations was a natural fit, as Livable City supports UNDISCOVERED SF’s strategy to build a thriving new commercial corridor in the SOMA Pilipinas cultural district by 2020.
“After the huge success of last year’s Sunday Street’s SoMa debut and partnership, Livable City is so excited to welcome back UNDISCOVERED SF to take over the streets to further the visibility of the SOMA Pilipinas Cultural Heritage District,” said Livable City Associate Director Katy Birnbaum.
UNDISCOVERED SF is a nonprofit venture designed to jump-start economic activity and public awareness of SOMA Pilipinas, a historic and living cultural heritage district with ongoing new generations of migrant workers and immigrant families forming the lifeblood of the South of Market.
The struggle to make home, celebrate culture, build community and fight for economic and social justice is the story and inspiration of SOMA Pilipinas, who represents a diverse selection of service groups, small businesses and parks that have served the neighborhood’s thriving Filipino community for decades.
After the Filipino community’s recent City Hall win to keep Victoria Manalo Draves (VMD) park a sunny public space unshadowed by development, SOMA Pilipinas is celebrating by taking over the park and the streets to celebrate local hero VMD. Draves became the first American woman to win two gold medals in diving, and the first Asian American to win Olympic gold medals. A live painting in honor of VMD, who was from the South of Market neighborhood, will take place during the event.
Headliners on the UNDSCVRD stage at Sunday Streets include veteran Bay Area reggae band ‘Native Elements’, and ‘Dakila’ the first Filipino-American band to sign a major record deal in 1972; the band was born out of the Mission District. Rounding out the music lineup is Oakland-based collective Astig, mixing a tribute to Original Pilipino Music (OPM), while turntablist DJ DonDon will scratch his way to the top with his hip-hop vibes.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to showcase the past, present, and future of Filipino-American talent at Undiscovered SF.” said UNDSCVRD Music Curator Marky Enriquez. “To be able to feature Dakila, who toured with the likes of Malo, Cal Tjader, Jose Feliciano and Cheech and Chong in the 70’s, and a Bay Area staple from the present, like Native Elements, on the same stage is what Undiscovered is all about, and that’s bridging generations.”
Spanning Folsom from Essex to 10th Street, Sunday Streets car-free route connects western SoMa with the Financial District for attendees to reimagine their city streets as accessible, public and car-free spaces for all.
Inspired by the Ciclovía in Bogotá, Colombia, Sunday Streets is a series of free, fun events empowering local communities to transform one to four miles of car-congested streets into car-free community spaces for kids to play, seniors to stroll, organizations to connect and neighbors to meet.
Nonprofit Livable City runs both Sunday Streets and Play Streets, a program empowering neighbors to transform their block into an accessible, car-free open space on a regular basis for children, seniors, and neighbors to enjoy. Both programs are sponsored by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, as well as other City agencies, and Sunday Streets would not be possible without crucial services like Muni bus re-routing or traffic control officers for public safety.
Project experts from SFMTA and Vision Zero will be on hand throughout the season, providing neighborhood residents and visitors direct access to transit planners and ambassadors dedicated to sustainable streets.
Small businesses, residents, nonprofits and local groups bring activities, volunteers and performances to the car-free routes, with each contributing a distinctive character and energy to the day. A local hire program employs San Francisco residents for outreach and event-day support.
Transforming miles of car-dominated City streets into open space is possible through the collaboration and hard work of hundreds of volunteers, neighbors, nonprofits and small businesses. Donate, exhibit, volunteer or sponsor Sunday Streets in 2019 to be part of a sustainable, greener and more accessible future. For more information, visit www.SundayStreetsSF.com.
Sunday Streets 2019 Season Schedule – Upcoming Events August 18 – SoMa September 8 – Tenderloin 2 September 22 – Western Addition October 20 – Excelsior 2
The Sunday Streets 2019 season is made possible by the following season sponsors: Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), San Francisco Department of Children, Youth & Their Families (DCYF), Mission Housing Development Corporation, SF Recreation and Parks Department, San Francisco Department of Public Works (SFPUC), Genentech, Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), Sutter/CPMC, SF Parks Alliance, iHeartMedia, Skip, Sutter/CPMC, Bay Wheels, and Xfinity/Comcast and event sponsor Clif Kid
About Sunday Streets Sunday Streets is a program of the nonprofit Livable City, presented in partnership with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the San Francisco Department of Public Health and the Shape Up SF Coalition. Additional City support comes from the Department of Public Works, Recreation & Parks Department, SF Police Department, SF County Transportation Authority, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and her offices and the SF Board of Supervisors.
About Livable City Livable City is dedicated to increasing affordable housing, improving transportation, land use, open space, and environmental policies, and supporting grassroots initiatives to make San Francisco a safer, healthier, and more accessible city. For more information on Livable City, visit: https://livablecity.org. For more information about Sunday Streets, including the Sunday Streets event activity guide, visit: www.SundayStreetsSF.com. For information on Muni routes and vehicle access, call 511 or go to www.sfgov.org/311.
San Francisco –Nonprofit Livable City is thrilled to bring over a mile of open space to Folsom Street with Sunday Streets SoMa on Sunday, August 18 from 11am- 4pm. Spanning Folsom from Essex to 10th Street, the car-free route connects western SoMa with the Financial District for attendees to reimagine their city streets as accessible, public and car-free spaces for all.
“Seeing open streets filled with children
playing and space for everyone – right next to downtown skyscrapers – shows us
a new safe, walkable vision of what our City could be,” said Livable City Associate
Director Katy Birnbaum.
Following on the success of last year’s debut,
Sunday Streets SoMa continues partnerships with the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural
District, honoring the area’s past and present as a haven for the queer and
kink communities, and the SOMA Pilipinas, which represents a diverse selection
of service groups, small businesses and parks that have served the neighborhood’s
thriving Filipino community for decades.
Livable City is also excited to work with the corridor’s
Community Benefit Districts – including the East Cut and Yerba Buena – to
create an event encouraging neighbors to come celebrate in the streets and
learn about the area’s cultural institutions, community resources, small
businesses, and civic engagement opportunities.
Visit Folsom between Sixth
and Seventh Streets for a Filipino food market hosted by SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Cultural Heritage District and Undiscovered
SF with live music, food vendors and a marketplace celebrating the area’s
Filipino community.
At Second and Essex Street,
The East Cut Community Benefit District’s hub will feature a dog fashion show
and music from the SF Rock Project, while Yerba Buena CBD’s Arts and Culture hub
between Fourth and Fifth will celebrate with the Gay and Lesbian Freedom
Marching Band and 1111 Minna Gallery. Between 9th and 10th
Streets, the Leather Hub hosted by the Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District will
bring music, resources and information about the area’s history.
Inspired by the Ciclovía
in Bogotá, Colombia, Sunday Streets is a series of free, fun events empowering
local communities to transform one to four miles of car-congested streets into
car-free community spaces for kids to play, seniors to stroll, organizations to
connect and neighbors to meet.
Nonprofit Livable City
runs both Sunday Streets and Play Streets, a program empowering neighbors to transform
their block into an accessible, car-free open space on a regular basis for
children, seniors, and neighbors to enjoy. Both programs are sponsored by
the San
Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, as well as other City
agencies, and Sunday Streets would not be possible without crucial services
like Muni bus re-routing or traffic control officers for public safety.
Project experts from SFMTA
and Vision Zero will be on hand throughout the season, providing neighborhood
residents and visitors direct access to transit planners and ambassadors
dedicated to sustainable streets.
Small businesses, residents, nonprofits and local
groups bring activities, volunteers and performances to the car-free routes,
with each contributing a distinctive character and energy to the day. A local
hire program employs San Francisco residents for outreach and event-day
support.
Transforming miles of car-dominated City streets
into open space is possible through the collaboration and hard work of hundreds
of volunteers, neighbors, nonprofits and small businesses. Donate, exhibit,
volunteer or sponsor Sunday Streets in 2019 to be part of a sustainable, greener
and more accessible future. For more information, visit
www.SundayStreetsSF.com.
Sunday Streets
2019 Season Schedule
March 10 – Mission 1
March 31 – Excelsior 1
April 14 – Tenderloin 1
May 5 –
Bayview/Dogpatch
June 9 – Sunset/GGP
July 14 – Mission 2
August 18 – SoMa
September 8 – Tenderloin 2
September 22 – Western
Addition
October 20 – Excelsior 2
– MORE –
The Sunday Streets 2019 season is made possible by the
following season sponsors: Bay Area Air Quality Management District
(BAAQMD), San Francisco Department of Children, Youth & Their Families
(DCYF), Mission Housing Development Corporation, SF Recreation and Parks
Department, San Francisco Department of Public Works (SFPUC), Genentech, Office
of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), Sutter/CPMC, Golden State
Warriors, iHeartMedia, Skip, Sutter/CPMC, Bay Wheels, and Xfinity/Comcast
About Sunday Streets
Sunday Streets is a program of the
nonprofit Livable City, presented in partnership with the San Francisco
Municipal Transportation Agency and the San Francisco Department of Public
Health and the Shape Up SF Coalition. Additional City support comes from the
Department of Public Works, Recreation & Parks Department, SF Police
Department, SF County Transportation Authority, San Francisco Mayor London
Breed and her offices and the SF Board of Supervisors.
About Livable City
Livable City is dedicated to increasing
affordable housing, improving transportation, land use, open space, and
environmental policies, and supporting grassroots initiatives to make San
Francisco a safer, healthier, and more accessible city. For more information on
Livable City, visit:https://livablecity.org. For more
information about Sunday Streets, including the Sunday Streets event activity
guide, visit: www.SundayStreetsSF.com. For information on Muni routes and
vehicle access, call 511 or go towww.sfgov.org/311.
What Does Shared Mobility Look Like? with Myrna Melgar, Meaghan Mitchell, Mary Claire Amable and moderator Fay Darmawi
For the first time, Livable City followed the annual Livability Awards ceremony with a free summit exploring the interconnected fields of transportation, mobility and public health. To make it as accessible as possible, the Summit took place during Sunday Streets Valencia, right along the event route – with invites extending to some 20,000 Sunday Streets attendees.
The Summit kicked off with a panel discussion on dreaming big about the future of shared mobility, featuring Planning Commissioner Myrna Melgar, SF Bicycle Coalition Board Member and JUMP’s Meaghan Mitchell, and SOMCAN Transit Justice Organizer Mary Claire Amable.
Moderated by Fay Darmawi of the San Francisco Urban Film Festival, the talk not only explored the intersection between mobility and equity, but centered their own experiences as women traversing their city – whether by foot, bike share or public transit. (When Mitchell mentioned she may have gotten lipstick on the microphone, it seemed an apt theme – or hashtag – for the day).
Melgar urged bike share to include cargo bikes for people who need to carry groceries, which would provide access to more working families. Mitchell talked about lack of safety at night when public transit slows down, as well as her experiences being racially profiled and unable to catch a cab, especially to the Bayview, where she grew up.
Asked “What does equity-first shared mobility look like?” the panelists emphasized the need for a community-led approach, saying city agencies needed to do better with outreach and go beyond hosting a community meeting or asking residents to put stickers on a board at an open house. Instead, meet people where they already are – like in front of the Foodsco supermarket in the Bayview, as a recent SFMTA planner did.
Amable, who found her work as a transit justice organizer through SOMCAN’s youth organizing program, also called for a process inclusive of youth, who are often left out of the conversation.
Lightning talks from the 2019 Livability Awardees followed, with SF Rec and Park’s In Chan Kaajal Community Garden, winner of the Greening the City award, presented earlier by Supervisor Hillary Ronen, discussing the creation of the city’s first new park in ten years at 17th and Folsom Streets, which also includes an edible community garden. In keeping with the theme, they awarded two winners of SF Rec and Park’s pollinator costume contest, taking place in front of the Chapel at Sunday Streets.
People Protected Bike Lanes spoke about their fight to keep and create safe, accessible bike lanes free from car traffic and received [the Sustainable Transportation award, presented earlier by Supervisor Matt Haney
Mission Housing accepted the Complete Neighborhoods — Housing for All award from Supervisor Rafael Mandelman for their 18th Street ADU Garage Conversion Project, which is modeling a way to create new, rent-controlled housing out of dormant garage space that is accessible to seniors, people with disabilities and low-income residents.
Dr Susan Zieff and SFMTA Vice Chair Gwyenth Borden’s Keynote conversation, At the Intersection of Transit and Public Health, explored how the quality of our city streets affect the way people travel and use transit. Streets where people feel unsafe or vulnerable, whether due to crime, car traffic or uneven sidewalks, erode street life and discourage use of public transportation. Creating quality public transit and encouraging active transportation (like walking or biking) means looking deeply at the streets people have to use to catch that bus or get on their bike.
“The perception of our city shifts when we get people moving on the streets,” Zieff said, noting that Sunday Streets helps people reimagine their streets as walkable places, especially in a compact city like San Francisco.
Borden noted how adding red lanes or bike lanes sometimes faced opposition from neighborhood groups, echoing the first panelists’ conclusion that community outreach must be centered in order to improve the greater transportation system. Engaging residents to guide the planning process means the biggest stakeholders – who will be most directly affected by changes to their communities – have a say and that policies are created with their lived experiences in mind.
This first-ever Livability Summit was a great success, with attendees cheering at the end for another summit next year. Livable City and Sunday Streets are excited to continue to bring more public talks to the streets – and the people who walk, roll and bike down them every day.
***PRESS RELEASE*** Livability Summit Features Women on Transit, Public Health
San Francisco –On July 14, Livable City presents the first-ever free Livability Summit, bringing policy to the people with talks on transit, mobility and public health from 10 am to 3 pm at the Chapel on 777 Valencia Street during Sunday Streets Mission.
The Livability Summit will take city planning out of City Hall and into the streets, connecting nonprofit Livable City’s policy work with its largest program, Sunday Streets. The Summit creates a free, accessible space for the broader San Francisco audience to learn, think, discuss and dream big about how transportation, housing and public health solutions can become more equitable and sustainable for everyone.
Following a VIP reception and brunch, the event transitions into a free public speaking program at 12:15 pm. Enjoy thought-provoking discussions with a diverse panel of women, including SFMTA Vice Chair Gwyneth Borden, Planning Commissioner Myrna Melgar, Director of Active Living Across the Lifespan Research Group Dr. Susan Zieff, JUMP Community Engagement Lead Meaghan Mitchell, and SOMCAN Transit Justice Organizer Mary Claire Amable.
12:15 – 1:00pm // What Does Shared Mobility Look Like?
As bike, scooter and car shares transform our streets, reshape our commutes and alter the transportation landscape of San Francisco, how do we center access for marginalized communities, encourage sustainable modes of transit, and create a system that is equity-first?
Join Planning Commissioner Myrna Melgar, SF Bicycle Coalition Board Member and JUMP Community Engagement Lead Meaghan Mitchell, and SOMCAN Transit Justice Organizer Mary Claire Amable for a panel discussion on dreaming big about the future of shared mobility. Moderated by Fay Darmawi, Founder and Executive Producer of San Francisco Urban Film Festival.
1:15 – 2:00pm // Community Leaders In Action – 2019 Livability Awardees
It takes a village to create a livable city. Learn how these community leaders and organizations work across a diverse landscape to create changes that affect the way we travel, live and play in the city we call home.
Lightning Talks from the 2019 Livability Awardees include:
In Chan Kaajal Community Garden is part of the city’s first new park in ten years, bringing green, open space for community-building, recreation and public health to the heart of the Mission in collaboration with local community groups like Poder.
People Protected Bike Lanes fights to keep and create safe, accessible bike lanes free from car traffic. Their work has resulted in the installation of protected bike lanes on upper Market Street, $150k in funding for the Valencia Bicycle safety project, and upcoming projects on Howard and Townsend streets.
Part of Mayor Breed’s Executive Directive to accelerate the approvals of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), also known as in-law units, Mission Housing’s 18th Street ADU Garage Conversion Project is modeling a way to create new, rent-controlled housing out of dormant garage space that is accessible to seniors, people with disabilities and low-income residents.
2:15 – 3:00pm // At The Intersection of Transit & Public Health
From wait times to walkable sidewalks to air quality, how we get around our city is deeply entwined with the health of our residents. Studies have shown access to quality public transportation results in better health outcomes – but how do we get there?
The keynote conversation with SFMTA Vice Chair Gwyneth Borden and Dr. Susan Zieff, Director of Active Living Across the Lifespan Research Group, explores this intersection and the tactics, modes and models needed to create an equitable transit system that positively impacts public health for all San Franciscans.
Support Livable City’s important work, including Sunday Streets, by purchasing the VIP Experience at 10:00 am, including the Awards Brunch At The Curio Patio, where guests can enjoy a VIP Reception with delicious brunch bites, bottomless mimosas, and front stage viewing as Valencia Street transforms into Sunday Streets Mission.
Meet and mingle with livability leaders as you raise a glass in support of a San Francisco with plentiful and affordable housing, accessible public spaces and streets that make walking, biking, and public transit the best option for all.
The Livability Awards is generously sponsored by:
Ground Floor Public Affairs, Hospital Council of Northern and Central California, Marc Babsin & Marianne David, Martin Building Company, Nicholas Josefowitz, Reuben, Junius & Rose, LLP and Stamats Communications Inc.
