san francisco

san francisco cab

A garbled mess of regulations doesn’t help aspiring drivers, who find themselves stifled within an industry known for bottom-up entrepreneurship. Nor does it help consumers, hit with higher prices and outdated services.[read more]

affordable housing

San Francisco voters passed Proposition C, establishing a city-wide affordable housing fund on the enormous margin of 31 percent. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.[read more]

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These cities have presented challenges in areas such as mobility, economic development, social inclusion, health & wellbeing, urban management, lighting, energy, culture, future government and sustainable lifestyles. Companies, entrepreneurs, innovators, consortia, research centers, organizations and experts are all invited to take part by submitting ideas that solve the city’s listed challenge.[read more]

The idea of car sharing, where multiple paying members of an organization have hourly access to a scattered fleet of ready to go vehicles, is a really great idea for cutting down on car pollution. That being said, the fleets of these car sharing entities are in some ways only as green as the vehicles in them, which thus gives San Francisco Bay Area based City CarShare a strong leg up via the fact a large amount of its vehicles are making use of green technology.[read more]

San Francisco has established itself as a global leader in waste management by diverting 77% of its waste away from landfills and incinerators. The city has achieved its national distinction through a three-pronged approach: enacting strong waste reduction legislation, partnering with a like-minded waste management company to innovate new programs, and creating a culture of recycling and composting.[read more]

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How many people in your city live within walking distance of the nearest park? In what neighborhoods should park improvements or additions be targeted to maximize impact? How well is your city’s park system serving the needs of its residents? Are there disparities between the inner-city core and the lower-density urban fringe, or between...[read more]

San Francisco is famous for its steep hills,but they can also be a real pain to walk up! However, walkability isn’t just about hilliness or proximity to shops, its a combination of many different factors. So how walkable is the city really?[read more]

There were a few things FCT team member Gareth Pearson knew he wanted to see during his recent visit to San Francisco. Food trucks, parklets, and some urban farming projects. He thought he would have to hunt them down, but was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon them by chance. Here he shares the first of a few highlights from his...[read more]

Cape Town’s Foreshore freeway strangles the city and cuts it (and its people) off from the Port and water’s edge. With a comparison to San Francisco’s Embarcadero, Gareth Pearson questions what would happen if we did away with the Foreshore section of Nelson Mandela Boulevard altogether.[read more]

  Which are the best US cities for those who need or prefer to use public transportation?  New York, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, and Philadelphia – in that order – according to the terrific organization Walk Score, whose range of services offered to the public just keeps getting better and better.Today, Walk Score is...[read more]

Photo by debairdâ„¢ via Flickr

New York is a great city. It's arguably the greatest city in the world. But many myths persist, misleading many aspiring metros. Like San Francisco, NYC is a domestic migration loser. "Successful cities" are often tops in brain drain. Ironically (in view of the exodus), New York is also king of the talent glut:In the pilot, Hannah was...[read more]

photo by d4yw41k3rYou may not realize it, but the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transit District has an effective monopoly* on travel to San Francisco from Marin.  If you take transit, of course, you’re using GGT, but if even if you drive you have a toll to pay.  This gives the district enormous market power to influence the...[read more]