San Franciscos General Plan - Report Example

San Francisco’s General Plan Introduction Each has a set of policies that it adapts to deal with the land and judicial issues that may affect them; this is referred to the general plan. The general plan is a tool used to govern the long and short-term development of a community. The interaction between the members of the community within the general space is emphasized in the general plan. The general plan among cities is aimed at citywide development, but the approach in the general plan may be different depending on the strategies implemented by the city for development. Global and local factors influence the plan of a city. Global warming has resulted in implementation of development procedures that reduce the emissions thus adapting to global needs. Global warming has affected the city indirectly through increasing the cost of living. The element of the general plan under evaluation is housing. San Francisco is different from other cities in America because of the variety of physical features it has. The bays, hills and a wide ocean surrounding it determine the city’s physical layout. The city is also extremely compact contributing to diverse interactions occurring on its streets. With a population of different ethnicities, the city can easily be traveled by foot among other forms of transport available. The city offers a balance of urban and traditional architecture, which is evident from the mixture of buildings. San Francisco infrastructure and amenities have resulted in an influx of business, culture, tourism, and educational centers in the city. San Francisco has a rich culture with a high population creating a ready market for businesses started by investors (Cullingworth, Barry, & Caves 67). The 21st century has brought challenges to the general plan of many cities. The economic aspect of the general plan of the city needs to incorporate the effect of the challenges of the 21st century on the city. Technology and world events are some of the challenges affecting most cities in America. The San Francisco general plan ensures that the changes to the city are consistent with the nature of the city. The plan ensures that the city maintains its unique features, which help to drive the revenue of the city through an increase in investors. According to the state’s law, the general plan should address issues affecting land use, housing, open space, conservation, safety, circulation and noise in the city. The local government should adequately plan for the current and projected housing needs for all citizens in their economic class. Housing in San Francisco is an issue due to the constantly increasing population in the city. San Francisco is a hub for the region thus holds a large number of workers in all the economic sectors. Providing affordable housing is another issue in San Francisco and bay areas. The local government projects construction of new residence with up to 39% of the new houses meant for the low income earners. 22% of the new houses will be meant for the moderate-income earners in a bid to resolve the housing issue (Cullingworth, Barry, & Caves 84). The housing element update of 2009 sees the city work closely with other organizations to meet the housing needs of the people of San Francisco. Prioritizing affordable housing in San Francisco is on the agenda, and it is meant to ensure that the poor people are awarded housing that they can afford. The updates in the plan also discuses the preservation of the neighborhood characters to maintain the culture while providing housing for people. Maintaining the culture of the society is influential in the diversification process. With affordable housing being discussed, integrating it with transport and infrastructure is also evaluated to ensure the viability of the general plan. The updates also cover cultivating a sustainable model of development that will ensure that the city develops to meet its economy standards in the housing sector. Achieving affordable housing for San Francisco is crucial to the development of the city. Low and medium income workers comprise a majority of the population in the city and overlooking their needs would undermine the development of the city. Having a readily available workforce will increase the production of the city thus fostering economic growth in the city. Housing should be among the influential factors evaluated by cities that aim to attain sustainable development in the future. Affordable housing also affects other factors of planning such as infrastructure and architecture. Achieving affordable housing has been a goal of the city for a long time as changes in the city have led to the increase of population. According to the updates in the general plan, the city plans to achieve affordable housing in the next twenty years. This can be achieved by ensuring that housing is evaluated from a societal point of view and societies are allowed to constrict houses that will favor the economic class in the area. By diversifying the duties to expand the organization to the communities makes implementation easily, but may be prone to distortion of the general plan. There is a need to monitor the housing strategy by the city to ensure that the general plan is maintained. The time frame set by the updates may also have a negative effect toward attaining sustainable growth in the city. The uncertainties such as change in economic treads may affect the way the housing policies are implemented in the future (Cullingworth, Barry, & Caves 216). Achieving sustainable housing in San Francisco is a practical idea that can be implemented to ensure economic growth in the city. Housing is a crucial element that determines the economic growth of the city. Affordable housing among the social classes in the economy determines the availability of labor, which is needed for economic growth. The other elements of the general plan such as the infrastructure are also affected by housing. The local government has to provide social amenities to the new housing units and ensure that they are near to the place of work. Writing a general plan enables the society cities to achieve their development goals while maintain the characteristics of the city. Work cited Cullingworth, Barry, & Roger W. Caves. Planning in the Usa: Policies, Issues, and Processes. London: Routledge, 2009. Print. Read More