SFSU Senior Seminar 2007

2007 Urban Studies Senior Seminar (URBS 680) at San Francisco State University

Urban Studies Senior seminar students are working on thirteen projects for eleven clients during the spring 2007 semester. They presented PowerPoint slides of their findings to clients and BSS College faculty on April 30th and May 2nd. See syllabi for group 1 (Pamuk) and group 2 (Pamuk). Posters: April 30, May 2.

1. Housing opportunity sites analysis in San Francisco's Western SoMa neighborhood (Client: Western SoMa Citizens' Planning Task Force) A four person team will focus on existing and potential Residential Enclave Districts (REDs) in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. The student consultant team will develop criteria that will be used to evaluate and rate potential housing opportunity sites on selected housing clusters in Western SoMa. In addition, the team will update existing land use data for identifying housing opportunity sites and make recommendations on potential sites for housing.

2. Transportation planning in San Francisco's Western SoMa neighborhood (Client: Western SoMa Citizens' Planning Task Force) In 2006 a team of Senior Seminar students conducted a land use survey along San Francisco’s Folsom Boulevard. This year, the Western SoMa Citizens Task Force has asked a four person team in providing a comprehensive analysis of the street network and traffic flow in the South of Market neighborhood. The student team will conduct best practices research and create a toolbox to inform traffic flow alternatives (e.g., traffic calming) for the Western SoMa Planning Task Force.

3. Land use survey for mixed use and infill development in San Francisco's Sunset neighborhood (Client: ASIAN Inc.) The western San Francisco neighborhoods have been historically mistaken as an affluent area with no employment and housing problems. On the contrary, significant concentrations of Asian households with incomes of less than $50,000 (or 50% of HUD area median income) live in the area, and a large number of households rent their homes. The transit corridors along Noriega and Taraval Streets are underutilized and underdeveloped. A two person team is examining what needs to improve along these streets. They will analyze the feasibility of developing higher density mixed-use developments for Sunset District residents. The team will make recommendations regarding commercial and residential development potential in the Sunset.

4. Project 1: Post occupancy evaluation of Heritage Homes/Britton Court; Project 2: Resident satisfaction: Neighbors of the former Geneva Towers. (Client: Visitacion Valley Community Development Corporation) San Francisco’s Geneva Towers housing complex stood out as a vestige of old thinking on public housing and all that was wrong with it. The complex, consisting of two cement high rise structures, was demolished in 1998 and replaced with Heritage Homes/Britton Court apartments. In 2002, former Geneva Towers residents moved into their new homes. VVCDC has asked a Senior Seminar team to examine if the replacement homes have satisfied residents. The team is implementing a resident survey to understand current resident satisfaction with their housing. The second team is surveying long term residents living around the former Geneva Towers site -- pre-demolition, during reconstruction and post reoccupancy of the new homes. Both teams will make recommendations to VVDC based on the analysis of survey data.

5. Project 1: Mission District historical demographic analysis. Project 2: The historic Mission District (Client: San Francisco Planning Department) According to the Historic Resources Survey Team, the mission of the San Francisco Planning Department Historic Preservation Program is to strengthen the integration of historic preservation into the broader public policy and land-use planning arenas by identifying and evaluating cultural resources in San Francisco. This will be accomplished by institutionalizing a multi-year citywide comprehensive survey and by cyclical updates of existing surveys . It is the goal of the Department that these activities will increase the opportunities for broad-based and diverse public participation in planning and historic preservation activities and that they will promote the retention of neighborhood character through historic preservation, planning and adaptive re-use of the built environment. Four students will assist in the continual study on the historic context of the Mission District. Two student teams will gather demographic information on four selected blocks and we provide a full analysis of the data.

6. San Francisco's inclusionary housing program (Client: San Francisco Planning Department) San Francisco has long been an expensive area to live where high housing prices have kept many from owning a home. Realizing the need for adequate housing, the City of San Francisco established an Inclusionary Housing Program to help low and middle income households access homeownership. The San Francisco Planning Department has asked a four-person team to carry out an evaluation of the program. The student team will conduct a survey of developers who participated in the program, provide maps and lists of all projects (completed and in the pipeline), and provide a detailed background report with findings and recommendations.

7. Richmond General Plan update: Public health element. (Client: Moore Iacofano Golstman, Inc.) The need to address public health issues through thoughtful urban planning has become increasingly apparent. In considering policy options towards a brighter future, the City of Richmond faces a unique set of challenges—and potentials. With the support of a grant from the California Endowment, Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Inc. (MIG), the lead planning consultant for the Richmond General Plan Update, is working to develop a public health element for the city's general plan. This element will include policies and strategies for meeting 10 community health objectives. To contribute to the effort, a three person student team will do field work, analyze data, and perform research for indicators related to the safety and accessibility of neighborhoods and public spaces.

8. SFSU Master Plan (Client: San Francisco Planning Department) SFSU’s Master Plan aims to create a vibrant campus life through the construction of mixed- use housing and commercial development along Holloway and Buckingham corridors. A four person student team will design and implement a survey to understand the preferences of students and faculty. The team will make recommendations based on the analysis of the data regarding the type of retail that is best suited for the area.

9. Marketing and fundraising strategy for San Francisco's Arab cultural and community center (Client: Arab cultural and community center) Two students will assist the center with a demographic analysis of the Arab community in San Francisco using GIS and census information. The team will do a literature review and case studies to help the cultural center in build a strong marketing plan to better serve and help their community.

10. Does transit access affect local economies? (Client: Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates) A two person team is examining the extent to which transit rich neighborhoods have higher house values in San Francisco.

11. Study of the effectiveness of California's local Enterprise Zone administration Client: Public Policy Institute of California) The Public Policy Institute of California is conducting a two-year, in-depth study on the effectiveness of the California enterprise zone program. One portion of the study is concerned with determining how local enterprise zones differ in the types of incentives offered and how these differences tend to influence the effectiveness of each zone. A two person student team will work with PPIC to design a survey and interview local zone administrators. The student team will pre-test the survey and then analyze the initial responses in order to refine and to produce a high quality survey instrument. The students will also analyze the results to make a preliminary analysis of what trends are likely to be found once the survey has been fully implemented.

Stockholm, Aug. 2006 Gavle, Sweden. Nov. 2006

Photos by Pamuk.

(see 2001 student work; 2002 student work; 2003 student work; 2004 student work; 2005 student work; 2006 student work; 2008 student work)