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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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November 18, 2010Are Smaller Homes Here to Stay? BY FABIANA MEACHAM [Photo Credit: flickr user Dean Terry]The post-recession trend toward smaller homes in suburban communities has grown over the past few years – and as the economy continues to lag, it’s likely these more modest homes will only rise in popularity. It remains unclear, however, if Americans have really begun to reevaluate the excesses of 6.5 bathrooms and a “celebrity-style media and screening room,” or whether they’re just putting those dreams on hold for the time...
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November 16, 2010SPUR's Take on Amending the Bay Plan By Laura Tam, Sustainable Development Policy Director [Photo Credit: flickr user Ostrosky Photos]We know that the climate is changing. We know that sea levels are going to rise at a faster rate in the coming decades—as much as 16 inches by mid-century—and we know that large parts of the Bay Area are going to become vulnerable to flooding in the process. (Read SPUR's papers on sea level rise here and here.) Policy failure outside our region (nationally and internationally) is making it even more important within our region to both...
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November 12, 2010Weekly Snapshot BY ANIKA JESI Demolition of the Transbay TerminalSchool Brings Farming to the Big Apple: A formerly vacant lot in the East Bronx now serves as a classroom for The New York City School of Urban Agriculture, a new venture aimed at helping students use urban farming to foster a healthy food culture in their community. Washington Rethinks its Rules on Building Height: Washington, D.C. is reexamining its outdated zoning laws that restrict building height in the city. While some argue that taller buildings...
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November 10, 2010SPUR Tours Recycle Central BY MARK DREGER Just because you can recycle it, doesn't mean you should be using itSan Francisco is successful at many things, but there is one place where we shine above all other cities in the country – our recycling and compost programs. San Francisco was the first major city in the U.S. to implement a citywide curbside composting program open to all residents and businesses. Almost a decade after the program's initial roll-out, alongside an ever-expanding recycling program, San...
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