OSPUR

SPUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair Board Members Anne Halsted Carl Anthony

Executive Veronica Bell

Vice Chair Chris Block

David Friedman Larry Burnett Michaela Cassidy

Vice Chairs Madeline Chun Alexa Arena Michael Cohen Andy Barnes Charmaine Curlis Emilio Cruz Oz Erickson Bill Rosetti Manny Flores Carl Shannon Geoff Gibbs Lydia Tan Gillian Gillett v. Fei Tsen Chris Gruwell

Ed Harrington Secretary Dave Hartley Mary Mccue Aidan Hughes Treasurer Chris Iglesias Bob Gamble Laurie Johnson

Vijay Kumar Immediate Past Susan Leal Co-Chair Dick Lonergan Linda Jo Fitz John Madden Advisory Council Jacinta Mccann Co-Chairs Hyrdra Mendoza

Michael Alexander Ezra Mersey

Paul Sedway Terry Micheau Mary Murphy Jeanne Myerson

CHAIRS I COMMITTEES

'""""' Regional Co111111mees Planning

Ballot Analysis Larry Burnell

Bob Gamble Libby Seifel

Disaster Planning Olltrltlng Laurie Johnson Commntees Chris Poland

Audit Housing John Madden Lydia Tan

Building Project Review Management Charmaine Curtis Terry Micheau Mary Beth Sanders

Business Reuben Schwartz

Membership Transportation Rich Peterson Anthony Bruzzone Terry Micheau

Water Policy Executive Bry Sarte David Friedman

Anne Halsted

SAN JOSE CITY BOARD

Chair Board Members Robert Steinberg Chris Block

J. Richard Braugh Vice Chair

Garrett Herbert Connie Martinez

Karla Rodriguez Lomax

2 MARCH 2014

Adh1 Nagra1 Brad Paul Rich Peterson Chris Poland Joan Price Teresa Rea Byron Rhett Rebecca Rhine Wade Rose Paul Sedway Victor Seeto Elizabeth Seifel Chi-Hsin Shao Doug Shoemaker Ontario Smith Bill Stoller Stuart Sunshine Gary Teague Michael Teitz Mike Theriault Will Travis Jeff Tumlin Molly Turner Steve Vettel Francesca Vietor Fran Weld Allison Williams Cindy Wu

Finance Bob Gamble

Human Resources Mary Mccue

Individual Membership Bill Stoller

Investment Ann Lazarus

Major Donors Linda Jo Fitz Anne Halsted

Planned Giving Michaela Cassidy

Silver SPUR Dave Hartley Teresa Rea

Connie Martinez Suzanne Rice Lydia Tan Jessica Zenk

FEBRUARY 2014

News at SPUR

Mayor Lee Takes Important Steps to Address San Francisco's Housing Crisis In response to the housing crisis in San Francisco, Mayor Edwin

Lee has convened a task force to look at ways to increase housing

affordability in the city. This task force will focus on finding ways

to to create and rehabilitate 30,000 units of housing by 2020,

with one third of these units affordable to low and moderate

income households. The task force will aim to develop policy

solutions to meet this ambitious goal and to see those solutions

through to implementation. We look forward to working with the

Mayor on this critical effort.

Draft Urban Forest Master Plan Released Trees are one of the few types of

urban infrastructure that grow in value as they age, yet years of

underfunding has left San Francisco's

tree canopy in decline. To address

this problem, the SF Planning

Department along with the Urban

Forest Council and Friends of the Urban Forest recently released a

draft master plan to help protect, grow and manage this nearly $2

billion asset. SPUR participated in

the development of the plan and

provided comments on the draft. To

learn more, visit www.sf-planning.

org/index.aspx?page=3166

Planning the Land Uses for San Jose's BART and Caltrain station In 2010, San Jose embarked on a planning process for the future devel­

opment of Diridon, the central transit

hub of the South Bay, and the 250

acres of land that surround it. The resulting Diridon Station Area Plan

(DSAP) proposes 5 million square

feet of commercial space, 425,000

square feet of retail, 2,588 residential

and hotel units and a new MLB ball­

park. The environmental impacts of

the plan were released in a Draft EIR

in December 2013. SPUR submitted a letter supporting the overall land plan

of the DSAP, noting concerns about

specific aspects of the plan.

Can SF Take Down 1-280? San Francisco has released an RFP

for a Railyards Alternatives and 1-280

Boulevard Feasibility Study, which

will analyze the opportunities created

by boulevarding 1-280, improving

the 4th and King Railyards while

also planning for the Downtown Rail

Extension (DTX) and high-speed

rail. The goals of the project are:

to improve circulation for transit,

The Urbanist is edited by Allison Arieff and designed by Shawn Hazen, hazencreative.com.

cars, pedestrians and cyclists; grow transit-oriented jobs and housing in

a prime location; unlock economic

value by improving the neighbor­

hoods; and increase connectivity be­

tween SoMa, Potrero Hill, Showplace Square and Mission Bay. The study

will apply rigorous analysis to the

bold ideas presented in SPUR's 2013

report Taking Down a Freeway to

Reconnect a Neighborhood and also

builds on the SF Planning Depart­

ment's 2012 report Fourth and King

Street Railyards: Opportunities and

Constraints.

Increased City Revenue Offers New Opportunities On February 14, SPUR's Municipal

Fiscal Advisory Committee (MFAC)

brought together city staff and

experts on the local economy to

discuss trends that will affect San

Francisco's budget. The focus of this

year's Annual Economic Briefing, was the sustained and exceptional

growth of the city 's economy

across all major industries. led by the tech sector. While still only 8

percent of the local economy, tech

has accounted for 30 percent of San Francisco's job growth since

2010, and its multiplier effects are

responsible for virtually all of the

city 's employment growth in that

period. The booming economy will

translate into increased revenue for the city, which now has a nearly $8

billion annual budget (an increase of

1.5 billion since 2010) and provides an opportunity for investing in improved services and enhanced infrastructure. SPUR is working to ensure that our prosperity delivers benefits for all the city's residents.

THE URBANIST

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR r

Creating a New Future for Downtown San Jose Downtown San Jose is the most walkable, transit-oriented and dynamic

place in the South Bay, and it is poised to increasingly benefit from the

growing trend toward working and living in urban centers.

But downtown San Jose needs more people. After decades of

investment in buildings and public spaces. it has the room and the

amenities to welcome many more workers, students, residents and

visitors. And people attract more people: As the number of those enjoying downtown city life begins to grow, the vitality and dynamism

of the place will grow. Today, downtown San Jose is full of people on an

Egon Terplan is

SPUR'S Regional episodic basis, particularly when there are major events. But we want to Planning Director

see this level of activity become part of daily life.

San Jose's downtown is home to the city's oldest and most iconic structures, like the

18th-century Peralta Adobe and the Bank of America tower. It also boasts the city's key

civic spaces, like St. James Park and Cesar Chavez Plaza, where people still gather to share

public celebrations or solace after tragedy. It houses anchor institutions like San Jose State

University, numerous museums and theaters. the San Jose Sharks and other destinations

that bring people together for an urban experience.

Downtown San Jose is also the only downtown in the South Bay that is ready to grow in a serious way. In the context of other communities that often reject growth, the

city's willingness to expand and make use of downtown's infrastructure is an economic

development asset that will only become more important over time.

Many downtowns in the United States are experiencing revivals, with new residents,

jobs, investment and overall attention. Downtowns in Denver, Portland and San Diego have

reshaped themselves in the past couple of decades and now exert a strong pull on talent

and investment. Recognizing this, San Jose is ready to turn downtown into a dynamic place

that befits an increasingly urban city.

Some might argue that San Jose has been here before, with its downtown poised for

success. We think that present conditions are different, and a decade from now downtown

will be a much livelier place. But we don't believe there's one silver-bullet solution. Instead,

we recommend pursuing a number of different approaches simultaneously. Downtown

is already developing its own sense of spirit and place - on the Paseo de San Antonio,

around San Pedro Square, at San Jose State, among the local businesses. in the nightlife. That bubbling urban energy should be enhanced and encouraged. This is a time to

embrace those with energy and ideas - and to reduce the barriers that currently prevent more vitality from taking place.

In this issue of The Urbanist (and our report "The Future of Downtown San Jose"), SPUR presents the steps that we believe San Jose needs to take to get there. •

MARCH 2014 3

DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE

TransformiJg Downtown San Jose Six ideas for strengthening the

urban center of the South Bay.

Downtown San Jose is the largest single urban center in the South Bay - a dense, walkable core surrounded by historic neighborhoods and anchored by San Jose State University, which enrolls nearly 30,000 students. It is the location of some of the Bay Area's most significant future regional transportation infrastructure investments, from BART to Caltrain to high-speed rail. It is an important, yet nonetheless single, node of activity within the

open, decentralized and competitive landscape of the South Bay. But downtown San Jose is south of some of the major economic centers in the South Bay, and as such is not connected to the travel

patterns of many South Bay workers and residents. Less than 4 percent of the county's jobs are located downtown. It takes a special trip for many people to go downtown. And many don 't go at all. When they do, they are not always sure what part of downtown to head to, where there's certain to be lots of activity. At the same time, the public transit speeds remain uncompetitive with the automobile, so most who do come downtown arrive via car.

So how might we change that?

-7

4 MARCH 2014

Summary: Downtown San Jose is the only downtown in the South Bay that is ready to grow in a serious way. Here are six big ideas

to help make that happen.

By Egon Terplan

Thank you to the SPUR San Jose Advisory

Board, the Urban Catalyst Team, SOM, Fehr

and Peers, City of San Jose staff, VTA staff,

San Jose Downtown Association, and the

many participants in SPUR's project on the

future of downtown San Jose. Thank you to

Shane Zhao, SOM for assistance with maps.

FIGURE 1

The Geography of

Downtown San Jose

THE URBANIST

SPUR defines downtown San Jose as the Street to 1-280. It is larger than downtown

800-plus-acre area that stretches east from Oakland 's 750 acres and larger than San

Diridon Station to City Hall and San Jose Francisco's 620-acre downtown commercial

State University, and south from Coleman district.

Downtown San Jose

Light Rail

Caltrain and Amtrak

Altamont Corridor Express

Future BART Extension

• • • Future Bus Rapid Transit

THE URBANIST MARCH 2014 5

DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE

BIG IDEA

D Welcome all ki but hold out fo

ds of uses into downtown -jobs near regional transit.

A great downtown is both a job center and a central

social district. Today, downtown San Jose isl a

small job center (with approximately 36,00<D jobs,

comparable to cities like Jacksonville, El Pa~o and

Bakersfield). Bringing more jobs into downtbwn has

long been a key city strategy, given the co-~enefits of downtown employment, such as tax revepues,

higher transit ridership and a daytime popu\ation

base that supports retail and street life. With plans to

extend BART to downtown San Jose, it is irrjportant

to make the most of that investment and ensure that

downtown has a large capacity for jobs.

In San Jose's Envision 2040 General Plan,

downtown (including Diridon) is expected tb have

the capacity to add nearly 50,000 jobs and ro.ooo housing units. But SPUR's analysis shows that it will

be difficult to achieve those goals given tw9 major

limits on growth - height restrictions from the

airport, and parking (which is both a requir5ment and

a market expectation). Quite simply, many IJ1

uildings

can be no taller than 20 stories, leaving a limited

building envelope to balance between cars ~ nd people. I

While we understand the significant benefits

of bringing jobs into downtown, we balance jthis

against the reality of decades of weak job growth

in downtown San Jose and continued employment

growth in scattered office parks and campu~es throughout the South Bay. SPUR believes thf~ San

Jose needs, in general, to follow the market lvvith

regards to use, while having very firm requi~lements

about density and urban design - with one key

exception. We believe it is critical to make 1aximum

use of the development opportunity within the half­

mile of regional transit (BART and Caltrain) btations I

and to preserve key parcels for jobs within the

immediate vicinity of those stations (i.e., a +arter­

mile). We also think downtown has to eliminate its

minimum parking requirements and try to er courage

developments to be more creative about parking,

such as providing some parking options offs,ite.

6 MARCH 2014

The challenge for San Jose is to create a

major downtown center, with high volumes

of pedestrian activity, within a region that

is overwhelmingly low-density and car­

dependent. Yet despite the many surface

parking lots, downtown's total build out

potential is limited by the airport flight

path (height restrictions) and high parking

demand that results in buildings where

more space might be devoted to storing cars

than housing workers.

THE URBANIST

THE URBANIST MARCH 2014 7

DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE

BIG IDEA

Make sure that what gets built adheres to core urban design p~inciples.

Many good plans and principles have guided development in downtown San Jose. from the

Downtown Strategy to the Streetscape Masler Plan. But not all new development adheres to or supports these already-adopted ideas. The current development culture of the city treats each project as a negotiation, and sometimes good principles of

urban design are sacrificed in the process. j

Every time a new building presents blank walls or highly visible parking to the street, or has low ceilings

on the ground floor. it degrades the experie~ce of

the place and sets back the cause of downt9wn. San Jose deserves better, and the great buildings that downtown already has deserve better neighbors. While we argued in our first big idea that do~ntown should be flexible about use. we believe the city must hold the line on requ iring good design. Our

recommendation is simple: Make sure all nef buildings have ground-floor ceiling heights of 15 to 18 feet and that the ground floor is wrapped with active uses. While there are many other components to good urban design, we want to highlight the most crucial issues for new development to ensure that

downtown becomes increasingly walkable.

Downtown San Jose is working to create a

central place for people within a region that

is very reliant on cars. Essential to that goal

is making sure that what gets built follows

core design principles. As an example, when

a building presents blank walls or highly

visible parking to the street (as seen above),

pedestrians don't feel welcome. A better al­

ternative is seen (below left) on downtown's

Paseo de San Antonio.

8 MARCH 2014

E _g Q_

BIG IDEA

IJ Promote Central San Jose.

Like many downtowns across the United States, downtown San Jose is ringed with walkable historic neighborhoods - like Willow Glen, Japantown and Naglee Park - each with its own distinct character. Although not all residents in these communities al­

ways make use of downtown, they are a huge poten­tial source of customers and visitors for downtown businesses and amenities. But unlike some other cities, downtown San Jose is surrounded by many competing centers for work, shopping and other activities (such as Santana Row and North 1st Street). Within a 30-minute transit trip, downtown residents have access to 300,000 jobs, one-third of all jobs in Santa Clara County. Additionally, there are 200,000 residents who live within a 30-minute ride of down­town on local transit. The city should plan and pro-

THE URBANIST

mote downtown as nested within a larger area called "Centra l San Jose" that has numerous great places. And it should focus on how to connect downtdwn to

these other nodes within the central area). I The essence of this third idea is to reframe tre

discussion about downtown to view the surroJnding jobs and areas as an asset, not a threat. In particular,

SPUR suggests considering the benefits of be+er connecting downtown San Jose to the areas tliat are within a reasonable distance by transit or on

a bicycle. Downtown is stronger when it is part of something larger. SPUR recommends redrawi1g downtown and city maps to acknowledge Central San Jose. We also suggest prioritizing bicycle ~nd transit investments and coordinating urban vil lage planning within this area. ~

0 Downtown San Jose

2S minute Transit Shed

-- Light Rall

-- Caltraln

- Altamont Corridor Express

- VTA Express and Limited Bus Routes, and DASH Shuttle

lmi Map scale

Within a short transit trip or bike ride are

many neighborhoods and activity centers

which are an asset, not a competitive threat,

to downtown. The map above shows areas

reachable in less than 30 minutes on local

transit from the center of downtown.

MARCH 2014 9

BIG IDEA

Make it easier to get to and through downtown without a car.

For downtown San Jose to work, the city has to

do better at getting large numbers of people into downtown. For this to happen, transit needs to be faster and much more convenient to access. It must

be easier to get to and through downtown Wjithout a car. Despite perceptions otherwise, downt0wn is

already quite easy to access and navigate wi f h a car. It is surrounded by major highways, has yery little street traffic relative to many parts of the Bay Area and has ample parking. Making a shift away from a car-dominated environment means

rethinking the balance between cars and transit in

planning decisions. It also means acknowledging the reality that there is still plenty of capacity -both in the transit system and on the roads - to

accommodate more cars, transit vehicles anal other

10 MARCH 2014

modes of transportation. Having sufficient capacity also means that there is room to experiment with new approaches to transportation options. The city

should make downtown the showcase for how San Jose can shift toward alternatives to driving alone, particularly how to achieve the General Plan's goal to make driving alone decrease from 80 percent to 40 percent of all trips. This will happen by speeding up transit. expanding BART to downtown, building out bus rapid transit (BRT) and reconfiguring

light rail, improving bike paths and securing bike

parking options. The goal must be to ensure that the automobile is not the default for every trip.

Prioritizing cycling and transit (like light

rail, shown here) can help better connect the

many walkable neighborhoods of San Jose.

Speeding up transit through double tracking

1st Street (shown above) and shifting the

tracks from the sidewalk to the roadbed are

ideas worth studying.

For a complete list of SPUR's

recommendations, read our report

The Future of Downtown San Jose

spur.org/downtownsanjose

THE URBANIST

BIG IDEA

Retrofit downtown to be more pedestrian-oriented.

The City of San Jose has begun retrofitting many

of the auto-oriented aspects of its city streets and

grid. One-way streets have become two-way. Streets

like San Fernando, 3rd and 4th Streets have gone

through "road diets," where mixed-flow lanes have

been removed, usually to accommodate a bike

lane. These "road diets" make better use of limited

infrastructure by maintaining sufficient space for

autos, while ensuring there is room for a wider range of users. There is a "green bikeway" along

San Fernando and another protected bikeway on 4th Street. This retrofitting is a significant change

and has improved the quality of the public realm in

downtown San Jose.

But there is more to do.

Buses do not have priority treatment on key

streets. Traffic signals are timed for cars, not

pedestrians. Left turn lanes and dedicated left turn arrows privilege auto access, not pedestrian flow.

Though the city has very strong policies on the books to achieve a much lower share of drivers, the

desire to achieve balance among modes sometimes

results in continuing to privilege the automobile. Downtown San Jose has had several decades

of targeted investment toward an improved public realm and has many aspects of good urban

design that make it a walkable place. Retrofitting

the parts of downtown that are not yet walkable

THE URBANIST

is the focus of this idea.

Downtown should become a "park once" place

with a focus on walking. This means making sure

intersections have automatic crossing signals; too

many of downtown San Jose's intersections require

pedestrians to push a button to get a walk sign.

There should also be improved wayfinding with maps, real-time transit info and other signage.I There should be investment in new pedestrian

infrastructure. The successful Paseo de San Antonio

should be extended from Cesar Chavez Plaza to Diridon. There should also be a network of padeos throughout downtown (such as a new paseo from Gordon Biersch on San Fernando to Fountain Alley,

and a paseo designed through the Mitchell Block

parcel on Santa Clara between 1st and Market). -7

Retrofitting the parts of downtown San Jose

that are not yet walkable is key to creaing

a pedestrian-friendly city. Pedestrian

walkways like Fountain Alley (shown above)

offer an alternative to the traditional street

and could be part of a larger network of

paseos (such as with a mid-block extension

south to San Fernando Street).

MARCH 2014 11

DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE

BIG IDEA

m Build on downt?wn's strengths as the cultural, entertainment jnd creative urban center of the South Bay.

Downto'(Vn San Jose is the largest social and cultural district and the center for entertainment in the South Bay. There are 38 cultural institutions and vehues

in or directly around downtown and more than 300 restaurants, bars and other entertainment vJnues. When there is a major sporting or entertainment event at the San Jose Arena, downtown's streets fill with pedestrians. Its Convention Center has events scheduled a year in advance, and most events

bring in thousands of visitors. Downtown mJseums, art venues and performance spaces can attract tens of thousands for special events, exhibitJ and performances.

But there is not yet enough life to fill and activate all the great existing spaces in downtown, fmm the outdoor plazas to museums and other cJltural

institutions. The essence of our sixth idea is to focus on the people and activities that will fill dowptown with life on an ongoing basis. We think a keylway to do this is to further strengthen downtown as the

12 MA RCH 2014

South Bay's center of culture, art, entertainment

and creativity and to make it easier for people to do all kinds of activities that enliven public space (i.e., "activation of downtown"), as well as for people to invest in new creative businesses and events throughout downtown. Further integrating San Jose State with downtown is also important and could happen through establishing a more defined student

district around San Carlos and 4th Streets.

Visitors and residents of downtown need to continue doing what they've been doing: supporting new and existing restaurants, bars, clubs and other businesses. Downtown property owners need to continue being flexible and supportive of various uses within their buildings, including temporary

installations and pop-up stores, often within vacant building space. Visitors and policy makers need to support and accept downtown as a place that draws from and welcomes the city's entire economic and cultural diversity.

Below: One only need attend a concert

or San Jose Sharks' game to see how the

streets of downtown can come al ive. The

challenge is to activate these areas even

when an event is not taking place.

THE URBANIST

Looking Ahead What is possible today for downtown San Jose is built on decades of mostly public investment in streets, parks, transit, museums, theater, libraries and other amenities. The next decade offers the opportunity to attract people that will give those

spaces and places the life they were designed for. Embracing experimentation, allowing for mistakes and encouraging activity overall in downtown is paramount. But as we've described in this article, a permissive attitude is not enough to ensure the best future for downtown. It's essential to

THE URBANIST

Downtown San Jose is a rich cult ral center,

full of terrific institutions from th Tech

Museum to ZERO! and MACLA. P blic art

(above) is found throughout the ity.

push for dense new development, hold out f r . . . . I Jobs near transit, and maintain good ground-floor design. Focused effort on the planning arounlcJ Diridon, extending a network of paseos and f~rther integrating San Jose State University with dowl ntown are also key. We also believe it's necessary to continue key policy moves to make downtown a

friendlier place for walkers, bicyclists, transit 1riders and others who will fill the downtown with thb dynamism it deserves. SPUR is excited to help make

this future. •

By focusing on San Jose as the South Bay's

center of art, culture, and entertainment,

downtown could be further strengthened.

For a complete list of SPUR's

recommendations, read our report

The Future of Downtown San Jose

spur.org/downtownsanjose

MARCH 2014 13

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Management, Inc I San Francisco Giants I Shorenstein Company I Suffolk Construction I Webcor Builders

Andy & Sara Barnes I A1vil Builders Inc. I Black & Veatch I CH2M HILL I Cubic Transportation Systems I Rob Evans & Terry Micheau I Linda Jo Fitz I Forest cl· I I David A. Friedman & Paulette J. Meyer /

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Case Study #64:

ew Drawings, Old Buildings Armed with an iPad, an architect creates vibrant portraits of some of Oakland's most treasured historic buildings. Story and Art by Doug Wittnebel

This quartet of buildings in Oakland hold deep memories about the city's history. When we walk its streets, buildings like these "speak" to us through their variations in height. materials, and styles. When we investigate, we find that

the narratives of each building - the facts and fictions that attach to it - make a claim for our attention.

URBAN FIELD NOTES

D At the corner of 12th Street

and Broadway stands the original

headquarters for the Bank of

Oakland, a unique combination of

lower masonry block muscle and

a taller decorative tower. The main

building went up in 1907, and the

tower portion was added later,

pushing up to the height of 225

feet (18 stories). Now the bank occupies the building with other

tenants and histories. A series of

Corinthian columns and pilasters

support and frame the top levels

of setback windows. The top-level spaces must have terrific views of

the adjacent Tribune building. Per­

haps the two towers wink at each

other in the early morning hours.

D Oakland 's Tribune building, an

official historical landmark, was

erected in 1923, including 21 floors

and standing 310 feet tall. Archi­tect Edward Foulkes designed a

tower of mixed French and Italian

classical elements, topped with a copper green mansard roof with

punched eye windows. I wonder how one might reverse the hands of time on the tower clock, and glimpse back at some of the myriad tales printed in the news-

THE URBANIST

paper over the last 80 years. With

some building upgrades and new

ownership, the red glow of the

"TRIBUNE" sign in the night sky

and the distinctive analog hands

of the clock point to the future of

the city.

D Above San Pablo and Broadway stands the premier

flatiron building of the West

Coast, a younger sibling of the

more famous Manhattan one.

Most of the stories in this building

are woven into the exchange of money and finance, Wells

Fargo being the most recent

bank tenant. The original tenant

was the First National Bank of

Oakland, in this building complete

with safe deposit boxes and a

full basement for secure storage

of valuables, furs, jewelry and

paintings. Built in 1907 after the great San Francisco earthquake,

the building was designed by

architect Llewellyn B. Dutton, who

chose white granite for the lower

floors and warm terra cotta tiles for the upper story enclosure, which wraps smoothly around the acute corner next to Frank Ogawa Plaza. ~

URBAN FIELD NOTES

Our last stop on the tour reveals Oakland 's most unique flatiron building, ong1nally known a the Federal Realty building . Its

nicknames, "the wedding cake building" or "cathedral building,"

are familiar to most Oaklanders. The 12·story building was c pleted in 1914, designed by

arch I He haile well ·known family of architects w ed

rebuild San Francisco after th quake Fast forward to the 1960s and 70s, you could fill your belly with hotdogs at the ground level Doggle Diner. The building has now been transformed by the new owner, Andrew Bro, Into a unique

condominium building that features

units renewed and refitted to present-day standards and views of

the future

CITY NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

Urban Drift

ODDS AGAINST

TOMO~~~: RICH

1' Odds Against Tomorrow by Nathaniel Rich

In perhaps what is the first great

climate change novel, gifted

mathematician Mitchell Zukor

is asked to calculate worst-case

scenarios (ecological collapse,

sea level rise) in intricate detail.

He's pretty good at it - maybe

too good. Read what happens

when Mitchell 's predictions reach

a harrowing crescendo when an

actual worst-case scenario hits a

woefully unprepared Manhattan.

nathanielrich.com

The Future of the Corporate

Campus is Vertical

The Ch inese internet company

Tencent recently hired NBBJ,

architect's of Amazon's biosphere,

er, new headquarters, to design a

suburban corporate campus inside

a set of urban skyscrapers. Could

these towers become a model for

other tech companies looking to

create a corporate campus feel

within a smaller, denser footprint?

THE URBANIST

Set for completion in 2016, with

roughly 2.6 million square feet of

space over 55 floors, Tencent's new

headquarters will have space for

12,000 additional employees. As

more tech companies look to move

to urban environments, this idea of

a campus built up, rather than out,

could allow companies to retain

the ideal of employees mingling in

a grassy quad between buildings,

with a smaller footprint.

Shaunacy Ferro , "The AOL Of China To Build

A Suburban Tech Campus In The Sky," www.

fastcodesign.com/3024209/the-aol -of-china-to­

build-a-suburban-corporate-campus-in-the-sky

Are City Visas a Good Idea?

When the governor of Michigan,

Rick Snyder, announced his plan

to seek federal help in bringing

50,000 immigrants with advanced

degrees in science, business or the

arts to Detroit over the next five

years via a new visa program, it

raised the question of whether is­

suing city-specific visas intended to

lure immigrant talent is acceptable.

The EB-2 program already grants

federal authorities the capacity to

issue up to 40,040 visas nation­

wide each year, but Snyder's pro­

posed city visas would require im­

migrants who receive these types

of visas to live and work in Detroit.

Opponents of the plan highlight

the difficulty of preventing immi­

grants with city visas from moving

away from Detroit. but the gover­

nor's unusual plan will be submit­

ted to federal authorities soon.

Nicole Ferraro, "City Visas: The Right Way to Lure

Talent?," UBM's Future Cities. 2/12/14

1' Tracking Pedestrians

in New York City

In New York City, cameras watching

the streets are now also being

used to track the masses of people

moving around the city. A new

startup, Placemeter draws on

various video feeds to count and

track people on the sidewalks and

in public spaces. They already have

access to 500 cameras. but are

working to increase to 2,000 to

3,000 cameras to cover 90 percent

of the city. They plan to create an

app that estimates how packed a

restaurant, store, or recreational

area is at any given

time. Placemeter asserts that

privacy is protected since it does

not record or store any data after

it is analyzed, nor does it attempt

to identify individuals. Privacy

advocates may beg to differ.

Jessica Leber, "One Company Is Trying To Count And

Track All Oaf New York Cit'ys Pedestrians,"

www.coexist.com, 2/12/14.

-J, City as Canvas

East Village artist Martin Wong

(who died in 1999) amassed

hundreds of works of graffiti art in

aerosol, ink and other mediums.

Wong had a good eye: artists

in his collection include Keith

Haring, LADY PINK and FUTURA

2000, all seminal figures in an

artistic movemennhat spawned a

worldwide phenomenon. On view

at the Museum of the City of New

York through August.

www.mcny.org

MA RCH 2014 19

WELCOME

New Erin Halasz Hal Looby Alice Rogers

Jieun Han Jessica L Lord Matt Rowe

Paige Hardman John Lum Markus Roznowski

Members Masaye Harrison Daniel Joshua Luskin Lisa Ruder

Scott Hartstein Patrick Lynch Margie Rueger

Henry Haugse Fathia Macauley Sandeep Sabu

Vanessa Hawkins Wendy MacNaughton Alison Sant

Dandridge Sean Maddison Pauline Schindler

Mary Hearn Reema Mahamood Catherine Sellergren

Paula Hendricks Eileen Malley Leena Shah

Rod Henmi Benjamin Matranga Khalil Shahyd

Gregory Hensley Serena Mau Sweety Sharma

Jacob Hipps Rachel Mcintire Spencer Sheaff

Gabriel Ho Carolyn McMaster Mohit Shewaramani

Sharon Hoff Gabriel Medina Alex Shoor

Elliot Hoffman Roberto Mendoza Kyle Simerly

Miles Hoffman Susan Miao Justin Skoda

Dave Holtz Gordon Millichap Heidi Sokolowsky

Yu-Hsiang Huang JD Beltran & Scott Kate Stacy

Lucile Irwin Minneman Jeff Stahl

Marc Jablonski Beverly E Mislang Aaron Starr

Samantha Aguilar Carrie Callahan Conor E Donegan Scott Jacobs Michael Malesky Andreas Stavropoulos

Gabriel Alcantar Philip Campbell Sara Doran Caro Jauregui William Mallard Matt Stempeck

Megan Amaral Bruce Carlson Matt Dorsey Katie Johnson Kim Mondelli Cianna Stewart

Tom Ames Christine Carr Sheryl Drinkwater Scott Johnson Mike Moran Marc Svenby

Chirag Amin Jeremy Caves Laura Dulski Alexander Jonas Lainie Motamedi Julia Sweeneu

Kathryn Angotti Ivan Chabra Chris Duncan Allison Jones Chris Nelson Elliot Talbot

Michael Anichini Tina Chang Shufina K English Chris Jones Minh Nguyen Sharon Talbott

Alisar E Aoun Jessica Chase Sam Erickson Jubran Kanaan Christopher Noll Blake Tartt Ill

Phil Arnold Jennifer Chatfield Jasmine Eskandari- Dawn Kang Jan Novak Zac Taylor

Omied Arvin Natasha Chatlein Qajar Allan B. Kapoor Andrew Francis Nowak Ming Thompson

Jessie Aubry Kethia Chheng Washington Fajardo Jonathon Kass Asbjorn Nysaether Lola Tomey

Robert Bailey Michael Christensen Jaime Fearer Nicole Keeler John William O'Brien Lance Tucker

Stephen Baird Jason Cinq-Mars Jonathan Fearn Aysem Kilinc Ali x Ogilvie Peter Tuozzolo

Divya Balakrishnan John Citrigno Casey Feeser James Kingdon John Oram Eric Tuvel

Andrew Bales Alan G. Codd Casey Fictum Daniela Kirshenbaum Carolyne Orazi Ali Vahabzadeh

Anthony Barrs Libbie Cohn Gene Filipi Natalie Kitchen Suzan Ozcelik Adriana Valencia

Mat Beagle Alessandro Colavecchio Julie Ann Fineman Beaudry Kock Hardip S. Pannu Mark Valent ine

Marguerite Bello Mitchell Conner Ellie Fiore Rebecca Kohlstrand Lyssa Paul Reuben K Verkamp

Linda Bergquist Pamela Conrad William Fleissig Caroline Kwok Janice Perez Anastasia Victor-

Adam Berkowitz Jennifer Cooper Martin Flores Tighe Lanning Joel Piazza Faichney

Gershon Bialer Florentina Craciun Nicholas Fournier Matt Laroche Johannes Pieters Elizabeth Wampler

John H Birely Jessica Cunningham Ron Franck Questor Lau Mike Pitier Ellen Warner

John Blatz Michael Cutchin Julie Fry Bernard Lauper Kathryn Pope Jacqueline Whitelam

Aruna Bodduna Craig Daniel Barbara B Fukumoto Christine M. Law Phyllis Potter Jason Whitney

Mark G Bonsignore Douglas Davis Trudy Garber Roland Lebrun William Prouty Robert J. Williamson

Earl G Bossard Cameron Deal Michael Gomez Paul Ledesma Jeffrey M. Ralph Eric Wong

Christopher J Boswell- Whitney Deatherage Holly Gordon Drew Lehman Daniella Reichstetter Gabriela Worrel

Donaldson Jamey Dempster Jess M Greene Andrea Lepore Delia Reid Brian Siu Yang

Veronica and KC Brian Tristan Denyer Lynda Griffith Steve Letterly Hellynn Reilly Yan Yau N ·3

Bradshaw Michael Dern, AIA Tracey Bushman & Junyi Li Amy Ress Susan Yogi "' 0

Philip Brodey Jesse Dill Christian Gusholt Keith Lichten Douglas Rex Brian Young ·~

"' Derek Brookmeyer Jennifer Dobrowolski Erin Hafkenschiel Annie Liu Peter Rice Nolan Zail 1i

.8 Keith Brown Armand Domalewski Timothy Haines Cheryl Longinotti Eliza H. Rodrigs Jacqueline Zimny _g

a.

20 MARCH 2014 THE URBANIST

INTRODUCING ...

New Interns at SPUR

THE URBANIST

Briana Bixby Born and raised in Alaska, Briana is a recent

transplant to the Bay Area by way of Vancouver, BC. Currently, she is working part-time for a real estate

development company while she volunteers with

SPUR and the Red Cross.

Julia Chang Front desk ambassador Julia Chang comes to SPUR

after earning her bachelor's degree in political

science and minor in urban studies and planning

from UC San Diego. She is fascinated by all aspects

of cities, but particularly interested in transportation

and community planning.

Tessa Cruz SPUR's public programming intern Tessa Cruz is a

recent graduate of Oberlin College, where she earned

a BA in environmental studies. She is particularly interested in how sustainable development can act

as a tool for socioeconomic equality. She hopes to

build a career that helps sustain the environmental, economic and cultural prosperity of urban

communities through collaborative planning and

community engagement.

Dakota Gross Dakota Gross is a graduating senior at San Francisco

State University in the urban studies and planning

program. Originally from Los Angeles, Dakota has

been interested in the built environment since an

early age. She is planning on continuing her academic

career in urban geography and aspires to be a land

use planner.

Irene Ho Irene Ho is a Hong Kong native with an interest in

urban design, landscape architecture and historic

preservation. She is currently earning a BA in

urban studies and planning at San Francisco State

University. Irene enjoys exploring cities and has

gained experience in landscape architecture in

Shanghai, foreign language education in Beijing, and

political campaigning in San Francisco.

Jackson Jewett Jackson is a California native who recently completed

his bachelor's degree across the bay at UC Berkeley. As a cognitive science major, he is exploring an early

career shift into the world of urban planning. He is

particularly interested in economic development and

good government.

Justin Rex Justin is a native Ohioan and a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati's School of Planning. New to

this neck of the woods, he is excited to be exploring

the San Francisco Bay Area .

Michae' Waters Mike Waters comes to SPUR as part of a transition

back toward working with the built environment,

after spending the previous three years working in healthcare consulting. A 2010 graduate of Middlebury

College, where he majored in architectural studies.

Mike has also spent time as a draftsman in an architecture firm and worked as an independent

consultant on sustainability. He hopes his time at SPUR will broaden his exposure to planning and

development issues in the Bay Area.

MARCH 2014 21

MEMBER PROFILE

100% Audible

Roman Mars The radio host muses on toothbrushes,

reinforced concrete and a secret kept by

Pittsburghians .

22 MARCH 2014

Roman Mars describes himself as "a public radio fanatic that turned pro." He taught himself the basics of interviewing and production and applied for every internship he could find with no luck. And then. KALW, which "was so small that it had no formal internship program at the time," says Mars gave him a shot. Mars worked on every show that would allow

him, working as a volunteer producer for three years until he got my first full time job at WBEZ in Chicago.

Then he launched 99% Invisible, which he describes as a tiny radio show about design. The popular program (and podcast) has covered a broad array of design and architecture topics from revolving doors to DIY space suits, cul de sacs to slot

machines.

Why do a radio show about design rather than, say

baseball or politics? What does the format bring to

design that others don't?

I like design because it's a process, and where there's

a process, there's a story. Architecture and design have a bevy of very invested characters that have strong opinions and can provide an enthusiastic,

geeky energy to a radio piece (Note: This person is sometimes me).

What's the biggest challenge of discussing design

on the radio?

Covering design on the radio can be a challenge for obvious reasons, but being audio-only is a constraint that generally works in my favor. Most film

documentaries about design are wall-to-wall lovely,

close up images of curved teapot handles and funky chairs . When you can 't rely on that, you have to stick

to the objects that have the best story, but aren't necessarily the most beautiful. I also think audio

allows me to widen the field a bit. When the images

are secondary, the parallels between all the thought that goes into designing a flag and all the thought that goes into designing a public square are easier to fit into the big tent of design.

The biggest challenge is making sure, when I do describe something visual, that I'm doing a good

job and the writing creates an accurate image in the

listener's mind. It 's pretty easy to convince myself that the building or graphic I'm describing is clear and easy to grasp, but people don't listen that intently to the radio, so I have to step back, reinforce all the images through story elements, and create the piece in such a way that the content, tone and rhythm is pleasing, even if the listeners don't grasp

everything perfectly the first time they hear it.

We were lucky enough to have you devote a

program to our 2013 exhibition "Unbuilt San

Francisco." What struck you in particular about the

show?

Fundamentally, "Unbuilt" was fun . I loved how the subject resonated with everyone. I think people are

less cynical when it comes to unbuilt structures.

We enjoy the Jetsons-style possibilities and we also revel in the bullets we dodged. It also gave me a new lens for viewing things we actually built. It wasn't

until I saw the giant Marincello model that I fully understood the Headlands.

From that event I know that you loathe the "what's

your favorite building" question so ... what building

has made the best story?

My favorite stories about buildings are the ones where you learn a little detail and then the whole,

massive structure snaps into focus and you really

THE URBANIST

Roman Mars is host of the 99% Invis-

ible podcast, one of the most popular

programs on iTunes. At right, one of Mars'

favorite local landmarks, the Alvord Lake

Bridge in Golden Gate Park.

To hear 99% Invisible,

visit 99percentinvisible.org

THE URBANIST

see it for the first time. I always retell the story of the Montgomery Ward building in Chicago. It's not a very memorable building, especially for Chicago, but it has really thick concrete supports on

each of the four corners of the building. They really take up a lot of room on the outside of the building. I never really thought about why it was designed that way, then someone told me why the big concrete corners were there. First they open up the floor plan, but most importantly, to me, anyway, was that the

Montgomery Ward company prided itself on a more egalitarian hierarchy and didn't want executives fighting over who got the corner office. So the design eliminates any possibility of a corner office at all. I'd never conceived of a building quite in that way before, as a machine to enforce the will of a company. I've never told that story on the radio, but

it was a real turning point for me in how I looked at architecture.

What is one of the most surprising things where you

went, "Oh yeah, someone had to design that!"

One of the very first stories I did was about Lunar

redesigning a toothbrush and discovering, after tons of research and endless prototypes, that a straight handle was the best shape for a toothbrush. It's not trying to do anything fancy or look "designed." Straight was just better. I think we sometimes chase an abstract notion of "innovation" instead just focusing on getting better at what we're already doing. Most of the time, we could just stand to be better.

Most fascinating urban design story you've done?

The story Sam Greenspan reported on called the "Arsenal of Exclusion," which looked at Baltimore's

legacy of using the built environment to separate the city into rich and poor. black and white. Even though politics may have progressed somewhat,

urban design choices continue to resonate through generations.

How did you get interested and cities? And which

one is your favorite?

I don't think I can say anything but San Francisco,

right? The thing is, I don't love San Francisco because it is perfect, I just find it fascinating because I don't think it's ever really figured out what kind of city it wants to be. Is it a car city or a mass transit city? Politically it's progressive, but so many aspects of the built environment are almost comically conservative. SF's most iconic building, the Transamerica Pyramid, really captures the

character of the city in this way. Depending on where you're standing, it's either a beautiful silhouette or a big old mess. I love that.

I also went to Pittsburgh recently and thought it was lovely. I think people from Pittsburgh are purposely keeping that fact quiet.

Can you tell us an unknown but significant Bay Area

curiosity that our readers could visit?

If you want significant, go to the Alvord Lake Bridge on the eastern edge of Golden Gate Park. It's a dumpy and neglected thing, but it also happens to

be one of the oldest standing reinforced concrete structures. It's a literal bridge to the modern world. Normally, being "important" isn't a compelling reason to enjoy anything. I always say, "Important is the least interesting form of interesting." In this case, however, the juxtaposition of its willful homeliness and its role in history is striking. •

MARCH 2014 23

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