We all have our own ways of processing the tourist experience. Some of us bury ourselves in guide books; others crane their necks to get the best photos; still others take notes. The following is an excerpt from Lawrence Li's latest travel diary, an insightful catalogue of his observations while exploring Toronto.

How intergovernmental cooperation restored a public waterfront

Little things matter. In Toronto, where Jane Jacobs constantly reminded planners and developers that their big projects didn’t fit the people who would live and work in them, there remains a celebration of neighborhood scale, charm and quirkiness. Chinatown, Kensington Market and Baldwin Village have much of the distinctive character of San Francisco’s Chinatown, North Beach and Noe Valley.

Seeing a new city from the perspectives of both a tourist and an insider, with a local guide, is an urbanist's dream. However, that local guide might get as much out of it as do the trippers.

San Francisco's need for housing for the homeless, rental housing and affordable housing for purchase far outstrips the available supply. Toronto shares many of the same problems.

Toronto likes to market itself as a center of creativity and innovation, but that is not its only economic role: Toronto is also vital as a gateway for immigrants.

After meeting with Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, Toronto's poet laureate, SPUR President Jim Chappell muses on what city planners can learn from the art of making poetry.

Now that the first Better Neighborhoods Plan has been formally adopted by the Board of Supervisors, the time has come for us to ask what we can learn from this seemingly epic process.

Updates and improves the original high-speed rail bond proposal enacted in 2002 and establishes additional financial controls.

SPUR commends the MTC on its inclusion of new performance measures to guide decision about potential transportation investments, but urges the MTC staff to revisit the projects in the RTP which do not meet the new goals, namely $29 billion in expansion projects.

Writer Andrew Blum ponders the relevance of purely local concerns in this era of global climate change as a driving force for neighborhood planning.

We all know "the big one" is coming. But are we ready? It's a question we must confront now, with boldness and with honesty: what will it take to make San Francisco a resilient city?

A comparison of San Francisco's typical street pattern to classic "rowhouse" residential streets reveals the complex interplay of buildings and streets, and its impact on the public realm.

This measure appeared on the June 2008 San Francisco ballot. What it does Proposition H expands restrictions in the San Francisco City Charter to make it illegal for an elected official or candidate to accept or request funds from someone who does business with the City, or someone who is negotiating a contract with the City. Current law regulates contributions from people who have…

This measure appeared on the June 2008 San Francisco ballot. What it does “The Bayview Jobs, Parks and Housing Initiative,” Proposition G, is a general framework for the continued redevelopment of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and Candlestick Point. The areas affected include the former shipyards, the Alice Griffith public housing development, the Candlestick Point State Recreation Area, and the Candlestick/Monster Park stadium and…

This measure appeared on the June 2008 San Francisco ballot. What it does Proposition F is an initiative ordinance that sets forth policies requiring that in the development plan for the Bayview Hunters Point area, at least 50 percent of all new housing units developed in the project site must be “affordable.” The initiative specifies that one-sixth of all units affordable to households earning…

This measure appeared on the June 2008 San Francisco ballot. What it does Currently, the mayor can appoint all five members of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. The Board of Supervisors can reject a nominee from the mayor with the votes of eight of the 11 members of the Board of Supervisors. If the Board of Supervisors cannot get eight members to vote…

This measure appeared on the June 2008 San Francisco ballot. What it does Proposition D makes three changes to the San Francisco City Charter related to diversity on City boards and commissions. First, it adds “types of disabilities” to the list of diversity criteria. Second, it mandates that each commission should “reflect the interests and contributions” of the people represented by the broad mix…

This measure appeared on the June 2008 San Francisco ballot. What it does “Moral turpitude” is a term that refers to the conditions and motivations under which a crime was committed, not an action defined in the wording of a law. Courts have made varying determinations of what constitutes moral turpitude in the commission of other crimes, but in general it means that a…

This measure appeared on the June 2008 San Francisco ballot. What it does This proposed amendment to the San Francisco City Charter would limit how future City employees earn and receive retirement health benefits. The measure also includes an increase in the City’s pension formula. The purpose of the measure is to ensure that the City’s $4 billion unfunded liability for retiree health care…