Blog
Search the SPUR Blog
-
January 27, 2011Exploring Chinatown's Alleyways POSTED BY COLLEEN MCHUGH + JORDAN SALINGER
-
January 25, 2011It Takes a Village... to Close a Power Plant Joshua ArceThe December 21, 2010 announcement that San Francisco's polluting Potrero Power Plant would shut down by the end of the year was as much a cause for celebration as it was a reason to recount the twists and turns that it took to finally shutter the city's last fossil fuel-burning commercial power plant. For many years, the preferred method of closing Potrero was to build three new power plants to replace it smack dab between the Bayview-Hunters Point and Potrero Hill communities where...
-
January 24, 2011Re-thinking Redevelopment POSTED BY JORDAN SALINGEROur new Governor is proposing to eliminate redevelopment in California. (See Governor's proposal called "Tax Relief and Local Government," here. Yesterday, SPUR's executive director, weighed in on the debate with an opinion piece in the Chronicle, arguing that we should reform, rather than eliminate, redevelopment. For contrasting opinions, see the LA Times series from last fall that un-earthed many examples of problems with redevelopment, and an opinion piece in the Contra...
-
January 19, 2011SF Muni Buses Become Canvases for Mobile Public Art BY HEATHER MACK [Photo Credit: flickr user Todd Gilens]After the interminable wait for a San Francisco Muni bus, its eventual arrival is a cause for celebration and relief. And for the next three months, it could also prove to be a rare treat if your route happens to feature one of the four city buses serving as vehicles for a public art project from local artist Todd Gilens.Starting this month, four Muni buses will go under the disguise of Gilens’ “wraps” displaying images of four local...
-
January 7, 2011Weekly Snapshot BY ANIKA JESIA Master Plan on Wheels What if cities’ basic elements weren’t stationary? “Switching City,” a proposed master plan for a small city in Norway, utilizes existing railways to move public functions within and outside of the city, making them more widely accessible, as well as weather adaptable. The “Most Advanced High School” in the United States to be Demolished A crumbling exterior and overwhelming dropout rates has contributed to the decision to...
-
December 29, 2010Civic Labs BY JORDAN SALINGER As part of their Technology Horizons Program the Institute for the Future just released “A Planet of Civic Laboratories: The Future of Cities, Information, and Inclusion.” This study takes some of the most significant trends in technology and forecasts the potential social applications in urban environments. It’s fascinating. Here were a few highlights: -Facing budget deficits, city governments will increasingly turn to crowdsourcing as a cost-effective way to...
-
December 17, 2010Weekly Snapshot BY ANIKA JESI Armstrong Place tour [Photo Credit: Colleen McHugh]Cities Embrace Temporary Fixes for Stalled Construction Projects: The economic downturn has left more than just financial scars on cities. It has left physical scars in the form of vacant lots and partially-built projects, the products of abandoned and stalled development. In order to spruce up these eyesores, cities are turning to temporary "quick fixes" to make more productive use of the land. It's Time to Update the Definition...
-
December 16, 2010California's Groundbreaking Green Building Ordinance BY ALEX SMITH The LEED Silver San Francisco Federal Building set a standard for green construction in the city [Photo Credit: flickr user Oldvidhead]Green building regulations are nothing new. For over a decade, cities have taken the lead in the adoption of green building standards. States have been slower to follow suit, but at present 35 states have adopted green building ordinances that either outline policies to encourage green construction or require green construction for state-owned and state-funded...
-
December 10, 2010Weekly Snapshot - posted by Anika Jesi Younger Greens Reject Old Ideas About Urbanity: John King argues that the approval of a new measure in Berkeley to promote density, transit oriented development and revitalization of the CBD is an example of the recent generational shifts in urban priorities. Cycle City, USA: With the approval of their 2030 Bicycle Master Plan earlier this year, and the implementation of an ambitious marketing campaign to spark bicycle ridership, is Portland set to become America’s first world-class...
-
December 6, 2010Bay Area Visionary, Richard Goldman, Dies at 90 BY JENNIFER WARBURG Last week the Bay Area lost one of its most generous and influential environmental leaders. Richard Goldman, co-founder of the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, died at home on November 29. Through their family foundation, Richard and his wife Rhoda have given away hundreds of millions of dollars to a variety of arts and environmental initiatives. The Goldmans are perhaps best known for the Goldman Environmental Prize, a grant awarded to grassroots environmentalists around the world...
Blog RSS Feed