All great cities are designed for people, and the City Design Group's purpose is to enhance San Francisco's status as a truly great city. It does this by advocating the human dimension as central to city design and design of the public realm.

Overview

The San Francisco Planning Department has long been a leader in the field of urban design. Combining the disciplines of city planning, architecture, and landscape architecture, the department's team of urban designers works to improve San Francisco's livability through concern for the physical qualities of the city. In 2005 this important role within the department's long-range Citywide Planning Division was formalized via the establishment of the City Design Group (CDG). 

The City Design Group's goal is to recognize the positive qualities of San Francisco's built environment and its relationship with the natural setting, and to create and foster initiatives that build upon these qualities in ways that strengthen the city's sense of place.

The Built Environment

Perhaps the single most important component of the City's sense of place is the relationship of San Francisco's built environment to its spectacular setting. Sense of place is strengthened when changes to the built environment balance this relationship. Three-dimensional form of the city and its skyline, the relationship of city scale to human scale, and good building design are the subjects of good city design. Recognizing and fostering a balance among these is a foremost focus of the City Design Group's work.

The Public Realm

The public realm is much more than a utilitarian system of connections to get from here to there. It is where people walk, meet, and where they socialize. It is where they take in the views, where they see what merchants have to offer, and where they come to know their neighborhood and their fellow citizens. The public realm connects us socially and economically. It can even be a place where people play. The public realm is the setting for civic life, and whether it is safe or dangerous, a place to spend time in or to avoid, determines the kind of civic life San Franciscans enjoy. In its public realm design, the City Design Group seeks to balance all the functions of a street, to make San Francisco's public realm a truly gracious civic space, and to put people and the quality of place foremost.

Our Work

The San Francisco Planning Department's City Design Group provides the primary urban design function for the City and County of San Francisco. Our primary goal is to make San Francisco a more livable place through people-oriented design. We accomplish this through these five core functions:

1. Placemaking
	Placemaking is our primary function. We lead community-based public realm design projects that help build community and strengthen the sense of local identity by designing people-centered places.	Examples Include: Major streetscape design plans Public space designs Public realm plans
2. Urban Design Policy Development
	We help to define and maintain the urban design policies that shape San Francisco's built environment.	Examples Include: Urban Design Element of the San Francisco General Plan Design guidelines and urban design policy in area plans Public realm plans
3. Design Review
	We advocate within collaborative, inter-agency processes for enhancing the quality of life in San Francisco through human-focused design.	Examples Include: Urban design Building design Street and streetscape design Public space design
4. Innovation
	We strive to keep San Francisco on the forefront of urban design best-practices by creating opportunities for innovative solutions to urban challenges.	Examples Include: Pavement to Parks Parklets Technology in the Public Realm
5. Research & Education
	We seek to improve the public realm by building knowledge through research and education.	Examples Include: Public Space and Public Life Studies Academic Collaboration Conferences and talks White papers

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Our Team

The City Design Group is part of the Citywide Planning Division of the San Francisco Planning Department. Our projects often involve staff from other divisions and public agencies. At the core of the City Design Group is an inter-disciplinary team of urban designers with backgrounds in planning, architecture, and landscape architecture. Individual staff contact information is listed below.

For a list of City Design Group projects click here.

Contact Information

 

 

Links and Resources

Partner Agencies

• Department of the Environment
• Public Utilities Commission
• San Francisco Public Works
• Office of Economic and Workforce Development
• Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)
• Port of San Francisco

Public Interest Organizations

• San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
• Walk San Francisco
• Livable City
• San Francisco Beautiful
• San Francisco Planning + Urban Research Association
• Streetsblog: San Francisco