Elements of Urbanism: San Francisco
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/625142483_NUuLE-M.jpg)
Metro Jacksonville takes a trip to the west coast to explore San Francisco, CA.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-aug-elements-of-urbanism-san-francisco
Great article and photographs. Those hills are insane. How many people out there believe that San Francisco and Jacksonville are really the "same size." ;)
I recently visited SF for the first time. It is definitely one of America's most unique cities. Coit Tower is a must-see, as it gives a 360 view of the entire city.
Great pics and article.
Yeah speaking of, how about including the square milage of city proper on the elements of urbanism articles?
ie:
Jacksonville 885 sq miles
San Francisco 231 sq miles.
I know the population density is already included, but it puts Jax in perspective when compared to other cities.
and yes, very cool article. I'm jealous! SF is my next destination on the west coast.
Quote from: David on August 31, 2009, 08:06:14 AM
Yeah speaking of, how about including the square milage of city proper on the elements of urbanism articles?
Good suggestion. That is something we can add.
They don't seem to worrry about the fault lines crossing the city. Modern buildings can be improved to withstand earthquake.
But the old masonry buildings in the Marina district are just waiting for another quake to colaspe. Marina district was built on fill that turns "plastic" during a quake and does not support the shallow footings the unreinforced brick buildings were built with.
San Francisco is one of my favorite places on Earth. Amazing city that is really what I think about when I think of an urban area. Atlanta might be "bigger" but it cannot shake a stick at San Francisco in terms of urban feel. Love San Francisco.
Oh yeah.. when were those photos taken? I have probably spent 7 or 8 days in San Francisco and I have never seen the weather that beautiful. I asked locals when the weather actually got beautiful like you see on TV.. they told me it was a secret they keep from the tourists.
Truly spectacular city! I've been several times as my sis used to live in Mill Valley.
Once upon a time, I floated from my perch in Yosemite and woke up in San Francisco... I have no recall of how the hell I got there. Those were the days, long haired, maggot infested, leaping gnome. Not that I ever did drugs, but I've read about it, seen the video... You understand.
OCKLAWAHA
Because of the population equity between "SanFran" and "Jax," San Francisco is where Jax should be in appearance, amenities, even population of the metro/MSA. The convention Center is huge and is probably a little large for Jax, but we should have a much larger convention center. SF is on a peninsula and is basically built out but the density is very compact relative to buildings, people, houses, etc., and Jax can only dream of being that way. Looking at downtown pics, notice all of the people on the very wide sidewalks; I'll lay a bet that it is that way on weekends as well. Great pics. Wouldn't want to live there though.
I'll take Jax over SF any day of the week, month or year!
Heights Unknown
The few times I have visited, I couldn't help notice what a diverse community SF is. What is the ethnic make-up of SF?
San Fran is one of my favorite places on earth... I have spent alot of time there and still have not seen every thing I would like...
I would suggest however that the
QuoteCommon Downtown Albatross:
Would be homelessness and vagrancy... The panhandlers in SFO can be quite aggressive.
I dont disagree... San Franciscans handle the problem well. Tourists not accustomed to the aggressiveness of panhandlers can be easily intimidated... It could easliy be described as a Common downtown albatross.
You're right. That is a common downtown albatross.
Quotedefine albatross?
A problem. Homelessness is a social problem, although San Francisco definately deals with it better.
Quote from: stephendare on August 31, 2009, 01:17:50 PM
I can guaranbygumtee you that if you took our fatheaded leadership here and switched them with the San Franciscan Leadership, within two years, The Financial district would be a ghost town, and Jacksonville would be the Athens of the South.
I'll take that bet :D
Seriously though...Mayor Peyton was quoted recently as saying "Jacksonville is as conservative as San Francisco is liberal"....this was in regards to our aversion to higher taxes and government spending....I know you may not agree Stephen, but he is right!
It would still be too hot and humid... in the summer.
San Fransisco and all of the northern half of California are among the most "with it" places in this country. We can call Californian's left wing/liberal wackos but their "quality of life", even with their State's current budget struggles, is far advanced in most respects to ours. Especially with regards to the environment, public spaces, historic preservation, cultural and educational resources, architectural and aesthetic design, and mass transit. When you visit San Fran you immediately sense a city of VISION.
SF and Northern California have mostly done a particularly great job preserving their beautiful vistas, redwood forests, and other green spaces. Having steep ridges and hills has been a blessing in discouraging development in many locales. Of course, if this was Jax, we would have probably just let developers level such elevations and build on them.
Like Jax in 1901, the SF quake of 1906 mostly leveled the city (the ensuing fires may have done more destruction than the quake) yet SF still maintains a wonderful sense of character, history, and old world charm. Maybe some one should do a "tale of two cities" to see where they went right and we went wrong.
By the way, although Californians have some of the nations highest taxes and costs of living, it didn't stop such awesome economic engines such as Silicon Valley, running from San Fran to San Jose, from exploding. No place in Florida can compare to this epicenter of high tech.
A couple more comments:
Geographically, due to our expansive water bodies, I have often thought Jax could represent an eastern U.S. incarnation of SF by the Bay, albeit without the hills. Unfortunately, I see no community vision transpiring to get us there.
Second, Silicon Valley is a direct outgrowth of a couple of Stanford guys starting a technology company in their garage .... in 1939. That would be Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard of Hewlett-Packard. From there, all else flowed. No Stanford University, no Silicon Valley. It's why we need universities to be more intergrated into our community. QuoteStanford University classmates Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard founded HP in 1939. The company's first product, built in a Palo Alto garage, was an audio oscillatorâ€"an electronic test instrument used by sound engineers. One of HP's first customers was Walt Disney Studios, which purchased eight oscillators to develop and test an innovative sound system for the movie Fantasia.
(http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/garage/images/head.jpg)
The HP Garage is California Historic Landmark No. 976 â€" Birthplace of Silicon Valley. (1939 photo)
In September of 2004, HP announced efforts to preserve for future generations its most famous piece of real estate - the HP garage. The project turned the clock back on the original house, shed and garage at 367 Addison Avenue, Palo Alto, to conditions much as they were in 1939, when the founders established the now legendary Hewlett-Packard partnership. Completion of the project was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting on December 6, 2005.
From: http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/
Mr. Herbin,
did you see The Tanner's residence, by chance?
(http://vote08.freedomblogging.com/files/2008/05/albatross-wandering1.jpg)
Behold, the Common Albatross defined!
OCKLAWAHA
Very nice city been there only once. I love the seals. I could never live anywhere the grounds shakes!!
I have to ask, how can Jacksonville be the country's LEAST walkable city with a rating of 88/100. 88% seems pretty darn good to me...
88 is just for downtown. The average for the entire city is a horrible 36 out of 100.
link: http://www.walkscore.com/rankings/most-walkable-cities.php (http://www.walkscore.com/rankings/most-walkable-cities.php)
With that said, overall a city like Jax who's municipal limits include suburbs and rural areas will never rank high in walkability.
and once again for clarity....they only ranked the 49 largest cities....Jax. is last on that list, but other Florida cities like Tampa, Miami, and Oralndo weren't even ranked.
I miss SF, I haven't been there in years but I plan on going next year. It's easy to get around town and there is so much to do and see. Apart from the fog the weather is pretty nice throughout the year also.
If I move anytime soon It will probably be to SF.
went on the honey moon. love it. hands down. would stay forever if it wasn't for the fact i could barely afford a room there.
thanks for clearing that up tufsu1, 36/100 sounds much more realistic for Jax. I don't think that's absolutely terrible considering how huge Jacksonville is, as long as we do have areas like downtown, San Marco, Riverside, etc. that are walkable... Now all we need is fast, reliable transportation to unify them... [cough - commuter rail].
One of the world's favorite cities.Comparison to my beloved Jacksonville would be correctly questioned.There are similar opprtunities here but most not recognized.This is not intended as 'negative';rather an insight.
Thank you San Francisco.You are not "stand alone", but rather a segment of a certain Californian history,outlook and "lifestyle".You cherish every square foot of your existence.It shows. This ethic extends outward.Northern /Central as different to Southern California as Southern Florida is to Northern California....except Northern California enjoys a string of National Forests and Northern Florida enjoys....St.Joe.
It is good for us to look to the San Francisco region.
I love SF also. But, you maybe should visit it sooner than later. Upon the 20th anniversary of the 1989 SF earthquake, the Time Magazine article below says there is a 99% + chance for a strong earthquake in California in the next 30 years.QuoteAccording to a 2008 study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), there's a more than 99% chance that a quake of magnitude 6.7 or higher will hit California over the next 30 years and a nearly 50% chance that a magnitude 7.5 or higher quake will hit the state over the same period.
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1930668,00.html
http://www.youtube.com/v/NINOxRxze9k&hl=en_US&fs=1&
Pictures San Francisco's main thoroughfare as seen from the front window of a moving Market Street cable car, before the downtown area was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire.
Cool video... Complete anarchy! No lines on the street, no street signs, pedestrians crossing anywhere, cars mixing with horses and carriages... pedestrians clearly did not have the right of way... saw to guys almost get run over!
JTA should see this video. Talk about intermodal ;) Streetcar, bikes, autos, horses, and pedestrians, all sharing the same street! And, no traffic controls.
I really "admired" the nerve of those pulling out between the streetcars with no lateral vision.
By the way, notice the headway frequencies of the streetcars. Nearly continuous.