Timelapse video of the street install of the Urban Barnacle prototype:
1. Modular, stackable, rotating shelves and benches
2. Urban Barnacle unit on light pole
3. Solar unit
4. Modular vending unit
Check out some more details here: https://neighborland.com/ideas/sf-soma-an-urban-barnacle
The Urban Barnacle Prototype in action @5th and Mission Streets
New parklet outside of Devils’ Teeth Baking Company three blocks from Ocean Beach – within minutes of taking this photo, a fire truck pulled up and soon the parklet was filled with firemen drinking coffee and moms with kids enjoying a snack.
Check out my recent piece on parklets (ignore the icky interface and load time and focus on my photos and content, if you can!) in SF. Found out from the Planning Dept that there are dozens and dozens of interested businesses, groups, and individuals on the waiting list!
While some are clearly better designed and more popular than others, isn’t it fun just to see a different use for public space? It will be interesting to see where this program goes in the next several years. And hey, who hasn’t noticed that there’s nowhere to sit in the city anymore?
Current Harding Theater facade on Divisadero – image via CurbedSF
You know you’ve always wanted to see the inside of the famous and gothic “Russian Embassy” building on the corner of Alamo Square. Well here’s your chance! Come out for “Party Hard(ING)” at the Westerfeld Mansion on the evening of July 1st to participate in a fun community fundraiser + party to support the restoration of the long-neglected Harding Theater on Divisadero.
“Neighbors Developing Divisadero” is excited to get going on a commmunity-minded restoration and reclamation of the long vacant space. Not only will the Harding Theater retain it’s faux-Moorish glory (instead of being converted into yet more tasteless beige condos), it will also hopefully function as a community “hive” – featuring performance spaces, incubator rentals, street-facing retail spaces, and an outdoor garden/patio.
If you want to be involved in this project, you are part of the community so make your voice heard and let us know what YOU want to see happen with the space! NDDIVIS is recruiting like-minded “YIMBY"s to join the project – instead of just saying "no” to anything – say “yes” to the sort of projects you want and need in your community instead of letting developers make all the decisions for you!
Check out the details of the party and RSVP, or just show up! I’ll be there in my 1920s finery, selling tokens and ringleading the festivities. New neighbors San Franpsycho will be live silkscreening custom tees and there will be music, food, and drinks.
Bartlett Street Redesign
The Mission Community Market is teaming up with local designers at Rebar Studio. along with other community organizations, to plan a better streetscape for Bartlett Street between 21st and 22nd Streets in San Francisco’s Mission District.
I’m volunteering to help the MCM with the outreach effort, as they move into the key phase of gathering community input on different options for the project. Recently, MCM and Rebar hosted a community meeting where different ideas for the streetscape redesign – including murals, pedestrian improvements, plazas, seating, and more – were presented, and participants were asked to highlight their own favorite ideas or add their own.
Check out my coverage of the event here and be sure to stop by the Market on Thursdays from 4-8 PM at Bartlett & 22nd Streets to give your OWN feedback on the design options – there will be posters set up!
Manifest Destiny! A tiny pioneer’s cabin clings to a San Francisco high rise
Have you seen this neat piece of public art yet? If you were walking downtown around Bush and Grant, you’d have to look up above to spot it. A truly unique collaboration between designers Jenny Chapman and Mark Reigelman, this little cabin has a unique story and inspiration behind it. To read more, check out my recent article and interview, along with more photos of the cabin.
Opening day of the Mission Community Market // Mission Mercado 2012!
Check out this weekly market on Thursdays from 4-8 PM on 22nd and Valencia Streets in San Francisco. A “livable streets” collabo project, the market actually temporarily closes down a small side street with music, food, veggies, and community! Come on down next week for a freshly made pupusa or some kettle corn, local olive oil, locally crafted jewelry and clothing, and a different live music act each week. I might be there volunteering or taking photos! Check out the rest of the photoset here.
DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO’S SECRET GARDENS
Do you work in downtown San Francisco? If you do, there’s a secret garden or roof terrace waiting for you to enjoy!
For years, San Francisco has required large downtown developments to build small publicly accessible open spaces. Intended to break up the palette of concrete, steel, and glass in a part of town distinctly lacking in parks, these spaces are known as “Privately Owned Publicly Spaces” or “POPOS”. Several years ago, preeminent urban planning and policy group SPUR put together a handy guide covering San Francisco’s downtown POPOS.
What’s even better, is that several new open spaces have been built since SPUR’s guide came out. Unfortunately, many of them are not easy to spot so you’ll need to have the location for your next lunch date figured out in advance. Look for the little brushed steel plaque designating a “Privately Owned Public Space” – but know that sometimes you’ll have to check in at a front desk or take an elevator to find it! I checked out the newest secret gardens for you so you’ll know where to go. Check out my recent article and photos to scope out some unique public art and sunny terraces for next time you find yourself in San Francisco’s Financial District!
Hey Kids! Learn yourselves how to make a birdfeeder out of junk from your recycling bin. Check out my new DIY instructional over at Inhabitat.com to make your own!
Do you think increased fines will actually make people care about parking blocking the sidewalk? Or crosswalks? Or handicap-accessible curb cuts? There is an SFMTA meeting upcoming on increasing fines on many of these daily occurrences. Have you ever seen anyone out enforcing?
I often see the little SFMTA parking carts (operators wearing bicycle helmets, hilarious because they could just BE riding a bike .… ) around, mainly ticketing street parkers due to overtime limits and street parking. I’ve never seen them ticket any of the obvious sidewalk parkers. In my luckily brief experience as a member of the disabled community, where I didn’t have the “option” to walk or get on/off a curb, I was shocked at how careless car owners were. You’ve already read my thoughts on how the curb cuts and garages rampant in San Francisco detract from the streetscape, make the sidewalks less attractive and pleasant to walk on (since can vehicles can pull in and out of them at will), and contribute to the impermeable landscape that characterizes much of the city. Not only that, but most of the time when a car is not totally bocking the sidewalk, the part that’s behind the bumper is often slanted into the road – making it totally impassable for me on my scooter, as well as it would be dangerous for a baby stroller or an elderly person. Not to mention healthy people – why should they have to walk into oncoming traffic simply because someone believes that a curb cut means “personal driveway here”?
The fact of the matter is, at present, parking on the sidewalk is illegal in San Francisco and carries with it a $105 fine – reason enough to stop skirting the issue and realize it’s just not done.
I am able to function in a world where I drive, ride a bike, walk, take public transit, run, etc. and obey the general rules of decency for each mode. It’s because I’m not a “cyclist” or a “driver” or a “pedestrian” – I’m just a person, who lives in a city, around other people (currently San Francisco) and don’t believe that the way I cart myself around exempts me from behaving in a normal and courteous way, or has somehow imbued me with special rights.
Obviously, congestion, parking and transit issues, and cost are all especially present for most San Franciscans – these issues will likely continue to cause aggravation over the next decade. I hope to work with you and others to come up with workable solutions to these problems that can improve quality of life and make San Francisco a beautiful and safe place to live. Property value, neighborhood attractiveness and photogenic homes are not created by paving over landscaping and parking a car on it. While tourists may congregate in certain areas of San Francisco – the Piers, North Beach, Chinatown – the rest of the neighborhoods do not deserve to have their gorgeous historical homes and sweeping vistas of hill and ocean marred by unsafe walking conditions, paved over outdoor spaces, and cracked, algae-covered concrete instead of attractive landscaping, treeboxes, benches, hedges or vines.