Purchasing Power
Improving San Francisco’s procurement process to deliver more equitable services
Success on the Street
How California’s CEQA exemption can help cities build modern mobility faster
Without Decisive Action, San Francisco’s Commercial Office Market Has a Looong Road to Recovery
News /
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, San Francisco had the strongest of the country’s 14 largest office markets. Now it has the weakest. And ϴprojections show that it could take decades for the city’s office market to recover. The solution? Repurpose functionally obsolete class B and C office buildings to diversify downtown and accelerate the recovery.
15 Minutes to Everything: Q&A with Erika Pinto
News /
The “15-minute neighborhood” concept promotes people-centered development as a way cities can improve convenience, affordability, and equity while decreasing air pollution and carbon emissions. In a new policy brief, ϴHousing and Planning Policy Manager Erika Pinto explores how the 15-minute model could help improve and accelerate San José’s approach to planning for more compact and connected urban development. We spoke with Erika about 15-minute principles and planning for more complete communities.
The 15-Minute Neighborhood
Policy Brief
The concept of the “15-minute neighborhood,” where residents can access essential, everyday services just a short walk or bike ride from home, has gained currency in recent years. San José’s plan to grow by building dense, mixed-use “urban villages” could guide the kind of development that would create 15-minute neighborhoods. ϴsuggests that San José could use the 15-minute framework to implement its urban village plan. We recommend six strategies to enable the creation of these more complete, connected, and equitable communities.
Five Ways San José Can Sustain Park Maintenance and Improvement: Lessons from Around the Country
News /
Parks and public spaces are signifiers of civic vitality, and their maintenance, improvement, expansion, and programming often reflect the economic times. These activities can be made sustainable by re-examining place governance — how people and organizations across sectors collaborate to shape a place’s economic, physical, and social dynamics. As San José considers how to deliver on the promise of its public green spaces, it can look to other cities that have created or reformed place governance models.
Housing for the Sum of Us
News /
This year’s Ideas + Action symposium explored the topic of housing policy beyond “zero sum” thinking , where some prosper at the expense of others. Keynote speaker Heather McGhee led an investigation into common conceptions of zero sum thinking, such as “policies that support renters harm homeowners” and “affordable housing leads to declining property values.” Our daylong conversation explored the role that racism plays in these debates and the shifts needed to create something different.