A coherent vision for the city of San Francisco
Building on my previous blog post The spatial dynamics, planning background and many contrasts of San Francisco, a new approach to place-branding is suggested aiming to reimagine the city in a more resilient way.
San Francisco is a special place, with rich history traced back to 1776. It is the finance capital of the West and a magnet for business, whilst at the same time its dramatic physical beauty, proximity to natural assets, the ocean views, silvery fog, compactness, and cultural diversity, make it an ideal destination for every taste.
However, like any other metropolitan city, positives come hand in hand with negative aspects that could be real challenges, even threats, when planning for the future. The deserted downtown, fragmented waterfront, challenging topography and “broken” pedestrian flows are just some examples. Adding COVID-19 into the mix, we understand it is high time the city starts envisioning its future in a more resilient way.
The issues that the city now faces are complex and range far beyond simple questions of massing and scale. New
challenges call for new tools. The current planning documents, General Plan, its Elements and Area Plans, have a static character and do not serve as visionary documents anymore.
The new approach suggests planning and spatial upgrades to achieve a powerful and meaningful impact:
- Planning upgrades: The new tool, a high-level framework plan, is more strategic in nature and has a lifespan of about 10 years. It has a legal status sitting on top of the General Plan, its Elements and the Area Plans. Essentially, this tool glues everything together and takes a more holistic approach to planning and design.
- Urban flows: The new vision builds on the city’s main quality – compactness -, and unique characteristic – flows of any form (waterfront, trails, staircases, tram lines, footpaths, cycle lanes). These flows are now enhanced and celebrated to the fullest. The notion of street hierarchy is superseded, replaced with an hierarchy of green links. The main green links will form the spine of the city’s sustainable transport network bringing all ends closer, activating neighbourhoods, improving interest along the streetscape and, ultimately, making a more walkable city.
This short brochure-style study, shown below, tells a new story about San Francisco. A story that builds on the past, evaluates the present and plans for the future in a more flexible way. This story is the proposed new guiding light for a strong and coherent place-branding for the city of San Francisco.
Please reach out to hello@stelakontogianni.com if you want to share your thoughts on this blog post.
