Civic Center Public Realm Plan wins American Architecture Award for Urban Planning/Landscape Architecture

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Civic Center Public Realm Plan has been awarded the 2024 American Architecture Award for Urban Planning/Landscape Architecture from The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies! The Vision transforms Civic Center with three goals: re-establish Civic Center as the heart of San Francisco’s democracy by welcoming all San Franciscans, prioritize the urban forest for connection to nature, beauty, and shelter, and create an inviting place for public life through open space activation and essential amenities. This vision was developed through an extensive community-based process that brought together cultural institutions, community groups, thousands of city residents and workers, and governmental stakeholders to reimagine an inclusive and equitable public space, a ceremonial gathering place that welcomes everyday use and inspires civic pride. It unifies all public space through an expanded plaza footprint, creates multiple locations for civic gatherings connected by a generous civic promenade, actively engages adjacent civic and cultural institutions, and incorporates existing and new uses to support activity at all hours. The Public Realm Plan proposes to transform Civic Center into thriving social infrastructure, prioritizing public life and local needs in San Francisco.

Places

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Civic Center Public Space Design

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Civic Center is at the heart of San Francisco’s democracy – a vital open space for the city’s highest-density neighborhoods and a national historic landmark. After decades of neglect and failed revitalization attempts, a new vision is developed through a community-based process bringing together 75 institutions and community groups, thousands of city residents and workers, and governmental stakeholders to reimagine what contemporary democratic public space could be. The Civic Center Public Space Design transforms the historic district into thriving social infrastructure, prioritizing public life and local needs.
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Civic Center Community Outreach

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The vision for Civic Center represents eighteen months of community and City stakeholder input. Founded upon engagement and analysis, the Plan includes concept alternatives and a preferred concept plan uniting Civic Center’s three public spaces: Civic Center Plaza, Fulton Mall and UN Plaza.