San Francisco

City by the Bay: City Form and the Factors that Affect It

Porquerino, A.
City by the Bay: Profile

  Location: West Coast of the

USA

  Land Area: 46.7 sq. mi

  Water: 185.2 sq. mi

  Climate: Wet winters, Cold

summers

  Geography: Surrounded by
three bodies of water (Pacific
Ocean, Golden Gate Strait,
and San Francisco Bay),
approximately has 40 hills
 City by the Bay: Profile
SAN FRANCISCO
Slope

Slope (in degrees)

< 15 ("Flat")
15 - 40 ("Medium")
> 40 ("Steep")

I
2 Miles SlopeMap.mxd - emassey - mwebster - October 14, 2008
City by the Bay: Profile
 City by the Bay: History
  Early History
  10,000 years ago, Ohlone people
started the civilization in San
Francisco.
  They created chiefdoms, and
shellmounds
  1579: Spanish galleons sailed past
the entrance to the San Francisco
Bay

  Spaniards’ Expedition
  Sacred Expedition by the Spaniards:
they created the Presidio Army
Base and enslaved Ohlone
population
  After a long time, ranchers with
cattle set foot on the Pacific seas

 
City by the Bay: History
Old paintings of San Francisco
City by the Bay: History
City by the Bay: History

  Golden Era
  San Francisco became the
gateway to “El Dorado,” the
western land of gold
  Gold Fever signaled the start of San
Francisco’s modern history. Large
number of people, discoveries and
buildings defined San Francisco.

  Chinatown
  Transcontinental railroad and Gold
Fever allured the chinese
  Chinese people settled and
created a Chinatown in San
Francisco
 City by the Bay: History
  Victorian Homes and Cable Cars
  Silver entered the SF industry
and caused the building of the
country’s biggest hotel, Palace
Hotel
  Suburban sprawl represented
by the San Francisco Victorians
  SF cable cars, made steep hills
easy to conquer

  Golden Gate Park

  creation of the Golden Gate
Park by Engineer William
Hammond Hall
City by the Bay: History
 City by the Bay: History
The leveled parts of San Francisco   Earthquake and Fire hit San Francisco
  1906: the devastating earthquake that
leveled some parts of SF
  1989: fire destroyed lives and homes of
a lot
  Since then, SF considered natural
calamities in building

  20th Century: San Francisco

  SF acquired the Marina District and the
Palace of Fine Arts
  Hetch Hetchy Dam linked with SF
  San Francisco City Hall was replaced
  Transamerica Pyramid, Yerba Buena
Gardens and Davies Symphony Hall
City by the Bay: History
 City by the Bay: History
After the fire…
 City by the Bay: History
  Beatnik to Hippie’s Peace, Love and
Psychic
  New structures meant extensive
culture development
  “BEATNIK” – poets, writers against
current American values
  Hippie Generation – peace, love and
psychic widespread (Haight Ashbury
and Golden Gate Park represented
positivity up until now)

  Counterculture-Cyberculture
  After the Counterculture decade
(50s-60s) comes the Cyberculture
phenomenon (digital-aged bars,
restaurants and the like)
City by the Bay: At Present
City by the Bay: At Present
City by the Bay: At Present
City by the Bay: At Present
City by the Bay: At Present
City by the Bay: At Present
City by the Bay: At Present
 City by the Bay: At Present
Zoning Map
 City by the Bay: At Present
Open Space
Map
 City by the Bay: At Present
Transportation
Map
 City by the Bay: At Present
Neighborhood
Map
City by the Bay: Factors

  Location
  Being around bodies of water
  Port City – made way for business and trade for San
Francisco
  Being hilly
  SF being hilly challenged many urban planners to widen their
considerations when designing a city
  Jasper O’ Farell – regulated plan to fit topography
  Burnham (with Bennett) laid out a rectangular street
system similar with New York’s
  Bennett
  Climate (basis for the strict urban design regulations)
City by the Bay: Factors

  Society (Economic)
  Being known for Gold and Silver (way back)
  Made them very popular to other countries
  Population grew
  City form developed abruptly (transit systems, business
buildings, markets, hotels) to cater the needs of many
  (In San Francisco) “The demand for greater control over
one’s life and surroundings on the part of urban people is
reflected in a changing view of parks and the city
environment as a whole.” (Hough, 2004)
City by the Bay: Factors
  Function
  Being a Port City

  Other Factors: Strict Urban Design Regulations

  Urban Design Group in San Francisco (headed by Alan Jacobs)
  Required designers to consider
  Height (allowing adequate sunlight, to reinforce historic
growth)
  Bulk (width and diagonal dimensions)
  Color (allowed light to be reflected)
  View Corridors (views of bay and bridge)

  Disasters (Fire and Earthquake

  Encouraged San Francisco people for new large scale developments
Bibliography

  http://www.sf-planning.org/ftp/files/publications_reports/
library_of_cartography/OpenSpaceMap.pdf

  http://www.sf-planning.org/index.aspx?page=1654

  http://www.sf-planning.org/index.aspx?page=2426

  http://iguide.travel/illustrations/San_Francisco-23.png

  http://www.sfgov.org/index.asp
Bibliography

  http://www.sanfrancisco.com/history/

  http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=74544

  Halpern, Kenneth. Downtown USA: Urban Design in Nine

American Cities.

  Hough, Michael. Cities and Its Natural Processes: A basis

for sustainability.

  Growth of City Neighborhoods. San Francisco Chronicle.

September 25, 2009.