2022 in review: progress towards livability
2022 is nearly behind us. The lingering pandemic, political rancor and scandal, and economic uncertainty dominated the local news. Despite all the tumult and uncertainty, Livable City worked hard to help San Francisco take some important steps towards a more livable, just, and sustainable San Francisco. Join us in reflecting on and celebrating what we…
November 2022 election – yes on measures B, J, L, and N, and no on Measure I
As we vote this November, San Franciscans can help create a more livable, equitable, and sustainable City. We can keep the Golden Gate Park’s public spaces for recreation and enjoyment of nature, with enhanced access to the park for all. We can sustain vital funding for frequent and reliable public transit. and for safer and…
Why Open Streets are an Important Tool in the Fight Against Climate Change
Open streets programs are a powerful way of modeling a car-free future – exposing people not just to what human-scale public space looks like, but what sustainable transportation feels like.
San Francisco’s Car-Free Roots
Human beings have been carving roads and paths for eons, but it’s easy to forget that cars are quite new. Before automobiles, roads were shared spaces – open to pedestrians, vendors and modes of transport like horses and buggies.
Livable City’s 2016 General Election Recommendations
Livable City has taken a position on 12 of the 42 local, regional, and state ballot measures on this November’s ballot. Livable City recommends the following measures: Yes on Proposition RR – BART Safety, Reliability, and Traffic Relief If you live anywhere near the Bay Area, ride transit, or read the news, you know the BART…
Planning Commission Approves Better Environmental Review Standards
On Thursday March 3, San Francisco’s Planning Commission unanimously approved an essential, and long overdue, change to the way it reviews projects under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Commission replaced automobile level of service (LOS), a measure of automobile delay at intersections, with vehicle miles travelled (VMT) as their chief transportation measure for analyzing projects. This…
What Makes a Livable Neighborhood?
A livable San Francisco is a network of Livable Neighborhoods. Each neighborhood should have a distinct character, but each should be complete, supporting living, working, commerce, and culture. A Livable Neighborhood is: Compact Sustainable Livable neighborhoods conserve land, and are of sufficiently density to support frequent transit service and neighborhood-serving businesses. Livable neighborhoods provide a…
2015 in Review: The Year in Livability
San Francisco faced big challenges with equity and affordability in 2015. Still, the city made major progress by building and preserving affordable housing, planning better neighborhoods, reclaiming streets for people, making room for nature, lessening automobile dependence, and fostering a shift towards sustainable transportation. Let’s take a look at the year in livability: San Francisco’s Voice for…
Curbing the Caltrain Cluster
Livable City is proud to announce it is a recipient of the Just Transit SF grant. The grant was administered by the 11th Hour Project, a program of the Schmidt Family Foundation. Livable City, in partnership with Lyft, and in coordination with SFMTA, Caltrain, and other agencies and stakeholders, will immediately begin work to reduce…
The Perils of Planning by Exception
Two big private developments won important approvals in the last month – one from the voters, and the other from the Board of Supervisors. Voters approved Proposition D, approving a height limit increase for the Mission Rock Development on San Francisco’s waterfront, as well as a host of policies related to the development. The Board of Supervisors approved…
