Publication Date

Spring 2005

Degree Type

Master's Project

Degree Name

Master of Urban Planning (MUP)

Department

Urban and Regional Planning

First Advisor

Dayana Salazar

Abstract

Rarely do cities have the opportunity to develop and build an entirely new community from scratch, mainly because vacant land is scarce or unavailable. However, if the chance does arise, it must be designed, planned, and built in a manner sensitive to the existing residents and land uses. As residents attempt to protect their quality of life, it becomes difficult know how to accommodate change, even if it could be a welcome change. When new development enters into a neighborhood, change is inevitable. And because of this, residents may oppose new development that might be designed poorly or scaled incorrectly. This can be avoided or remedied by the developer taking the opportunity to consult with the residents, who know the existing and surrounding neighborhood better than anyone else.

When Catellus Development acquired land from its parent company. Southern Pacific Railroad, in the Mission Bay area —a redevelopment area of the City of San Francisco- the company seized the opportunity to engage the public in the largest development in the City's history. With a project at a scale of over 300 acres, adjacent neighborhood and resident opposition was inevitable; Catellus had a chance to consult with the public about the project and how it will affect them before it was too late.

At the Mission Bay Visitor Center, Catellus’ display boards proudly emphasize the use of community meetings and workshops to develop the project design. The Master Plan took many years to develop, and did change significantly over that time. Catellus’ marketing efforts imply, through the display of posterboards summarizing workshop conclusions, that the design changes were due the company’s effort to incorporate community input, rather than solely City requirements or conditions. The intent of this project is to evaluate whether or not the community had influence on various design and planning aspects, such as height, density, land uses, etc of the Mission Bay project. Specifically, I am interested in examining the question of how did the surrounding neighborhoods affect the design guidelines and subsequent plan, as it was approved and now being built, if at all?

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