A Rescue Plan for San Francisco's Half-Empty Downtown

For a city known for its green space, San Francisco’s downtown is mostly gray. In the 43 blocks that are commonly considered the core business district, more than a third of the space is taken up by car-filled streets, and none by public parks or pedestrian-only roads. Three-quarters of the built square footage is offices.

But there are also 34 privately owned open public spaces — called POPOs, for short — hidden within that radius, along with many examples of historic architecture, 15 alleyways, about 300 units of housing and, according to planners, a lot of potential.

Unlocking that potential is the goal behind San Francisco’s Public Realm Action Plan, a new 143-page report commissioned by the Downtown San Francisco Partnership, a community benefits district that has jurisdiction over the area composed of the financial district, Jackson Square, and part of the SoMa (South of Market) neighborhood.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o7jOqKSbnaKce6S7zGilnq%2BjZK6zwMico56rX2d9c36MaW9maGJkrm6%2BxKyarp1dpbmiuoyfpqtlo5a7brLRmqWcoaOYvG6%2FjKGYpZ5dmrqxwNhmm6ivnqm8uLo%3D