Forest Bathing

As proposals come from left and right field for "improvements" to Golden Gate Park, it might pay to consider again why it is our forebears built the park to begin with. Conceived by visionaries to be the defining green gem of the newly minted metropolis in the American West, Golden Gate Park was created to become an space where all could escape urban pressures and enjoy a naturalistic park setting. Today, it is one of the most popular parks in the country, visited by over 13 million people annually to walk amongst manicured gardens, verdant open spaces and ageless trees. In the January 2011 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine, ASLA Associate Nicole Neder explores the cultural relationship between people and trees in a much more populated and urban country, thousands of mils away. Japan, a country smaller than California, has over half of its land mass covered by trees. Naturally, Japanese society has developed a cultural relationship with the forest. Metaphorically called "forest bathing," it has become popular to take short, deliberately slow walks through the woods. For the routine outdoors men and women, it is obvious that time spent outdoors can promote relaxation, elevate mood and boost feelings of well being. Such mood-boosting benefits are now being proven in new research from Qing Li of China, who studied the effects of inhaling volatile organic compounds such as phytoncides (tree-derived essential oils). When inhaling phytoncides, the body increases the production of NK (natural killer) white blood cells, known to be the human body's line of defense when attacked by malicious viruses or cancerous cells. Furthermore, Qi reported elevated NK cells are sustained when "forest bathing" became habitual.

As Golden Gate Park acts as San Francisco's air purifier and green lung, we can all surely benefit from a slow walk in the woods. Perhaps we should cheers our health to the visionaries who planned the park to begin with.

Making our public spaces homeless-proof

Over the past decade, cities have tried to combat the prevalence of homelessness through a variety of tools. The image of a person sleeping on a park bench, for lack of a better place, became a public eyesore. Their goal: make the ubiquitous park bench uncomfortable for someone to sleep on. Barriers were erected, dividing the bench into 3 awkward-looking (and often ugly) single seats.

The homeless still need a place to sleep, and instead of lying on a park bench, they moved to covered alcoves, to the dark nooks of storefronts and businesses, and in our neighborhoods. But people still want a place to sit, to enjoy themselves during lunch or to take a rest on a walk. As a result, designers responded with recreating the park bench. Initially, efforts with a wooden or metal divider to prevent those to lie down were installed in its place; we can now find wavy, circular, irregular and mobile benches for people to "rest". When design was not enough, laws have been enacted to combat the problem. In Orlando, for example, an ordinance was passed to prohibit people from lying on park benches. What's next, preventing people from lying on the grass?

In our effort to make the homeless issue "go away," we have made our parks less people friendly. What happens when someone wants to lie down and look up at the stars, or when a couple in a romantic moment is interrupted by a metal divider separating the two? Instead of our parks and benches being a place where people can relax, relieve themselves and get away from the rigidity of urban life, they are met with the uncomfortable fact they are not welcome to do as they please. Sit in one particular position, or get out.

In our city, San Francisco simply removed the benches, particularly along Market Street (think of the barren public space Hallidie Plaza). No more benches, no more aesthetic homeless issue, correct? Not quite, as the homeless will sit or lie wherever it is comfortable or bearable. However, instead of the homeless losing a place to sleep, the greater public has lost an integral part of the public sphere: a comfortable place where people can meet, to catch up or watch urban life is now gone. Perhaps its time to change this point of view, to encourage people to spend time and engage their public spaces instead of shunning them. San Francisco would surely benefit.

Setting Visionary Precedent

Golden Gate Bridge. Coit Tower. The Presidio. Cable Cars. A few simple words set images in motion that can invoke the beauty of San Francisco. Throughout the history of our city, individuals have acted on their visions that have come to define the place we live and our day to day lives. Visionaries have taken ideas, implemented them and set them lose to be absorbed and accepted into the mainstream. Joe D'Alessandro, the CEO of the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, writes in a December 17th opinion piece to the SF Examiner that by looking to the examples set in our past, we can set visionary precedent for the future. Friedel Klussmann, the visionary who saved San Francisco's cable cars and founded SF Beautiful, remains a contemporary example of the type of vision needed in San Francisco. We applaud Mr. D'Alessandro's desire for forward thinking today, just as people readily embraced Friedel's forward-thinking vision over 60 years ago.

Forgotten Space Above Us: Living Roofs

The concept of a living roof dates back millennia. Humans excavated shelter underground, in hillsides, or on the sides of steep cliffs, which were intentionally covered with living vegetation (despite the structural flaws a meandering root might pose). These dwellings were naturally cooler, provided aesthetic benefits and limited the erosive forces exerted on structures. As the dwellings evolved above ground, living roofs maintained their place in areas across the world, from the the desert southwest to Scandinavia. In our quest to remove man from nature; to modernize and create entirely new environments, we lost sense of how to integrate the natural world with the artificial. Our modern era of intensive urban habitation has given way to concrete, asphalt and steel, leaving behind acres of gray, heat-absorbing rooftops.

However, the myriad of benefits provided by a living roof has been "rediscovered" by urban designers, architects and builders alike. In the quest to reduce our overall impact on the world around us (from reduced heating costs in winter to small-scale air purification plants can provide), living roofs are being reintroduced into the mainstream. The website Ecosalon.com has highlighted 17 examples from across the world, broadening the envelope of what is possible on the underutilized space above us. In our small 7 by 7 city, we here at SFB believe San Francisco should not be left out of this wonderful trend.

SFB and the Geary Corridor

Congratulations to SFB associate Jonathan Goldberg for appointment to the Geary Corridor Bus Rapid Transit Citizens Advisory Committee (or simply GCAC). Jonathan was selected among a list of qualified candidates and appointed to represent the Downtown neighborhood during the environmental analysis of the Geary BRT project. With 10 other members representing interests along the Geary Boulevard Corridor, Jonathan will be providing input to refine the BRT alternatives and ultimately select a preferred alternative for the project.

We are hopeful and excited that Jonathan will bring a contemplative and open-minded approach to the CAC, as well as a keen eye for streetscape design, beautification and transit efficacy. Congrats Jonathan!

SFB on SFGate

San Francisco Chronicle's Urban Design Critic John King has brought the possible changes to Mid-Market to the attention of many SFGate and Chronicle readers yesterday morning. After a World Series parade and celebration brought some much appreciated vitality to the area, John King discusses with Interim Executive Director Jim Chappell the proposed incremental changes to Mid-Market drafted by SFB's 2010 Prize Winner Cynthia Talley's report "Mid-Market: A Center for Creative Action." From mobile pianos meant to reflect the historical nature of the arts and theater district to book racks outside the main branch of the library, Ms. Talley's approach uses many existing attributes and implementation of temporary small to medium scale changes to the district to enhance economic vitality. Although the report is only a proposed set of ideas, it broadens the discussion of what might be possible for this section of Market Street.

We hope this article engages San Franciscans to take action and accelerates the incremental changes needed to change Mid-Market. Here's the link to John King's article.

What Makes Cities Great

In an excellent interview and perspective of the life work of Charles Landry, a writer, thinker, speaker and founder of the consulting firm Comedia, Strategy+Business provides insight into what makes cities great. A political economist by training, Mr. Landry has intertwined various ideas, from the commercial to the cultural, that helps establish and sustainably maintain a sense of place readily noticeable in every great city. His viewpoint provides an interesting lens for the future, as well as broad ideas to remake underutilized areas of our cities today.

Here's the link to the Strategy+Business article.