Abigail Shull

"This year, the City will spend nearly $900 million on health care and pension benefits for current and retired city workers. This is projected to grow by 60 percent in the next four years. Why are benefit costs growing so rapidly? What impact might this have on basic services and the overall ability for local government to function effectively? And most importantly, what is being done to manage this spike in costs? With Micki Callahan and Steve Ponder of the Department of Human Resources."

"Located in the center of the Bay Area, the former Alameda Naval Air Station is the epitome of an "opportunity site" for new development.  Long contentious, the City’s recent plan for "Alameda Point" calls for over 4,000 new homes (25 percent of which are for low- and moderate-income households) as well as new parks, improved ferry services and neighborhood retail. The plan, however, was rejected by voters in February. What were the voters' concerns? Join Marla Wilson  of Greenbelt Alliance and smart-growth advocate John Knox White for a postmortem on this lost infill opportunity."

"How do we harness our economic power for change? Patronizing businesses and services whose practices coincide with our political or social values is one effective way. We will speak with three organizations that reinforce "good" behavior by encouraging educated commerce, microlending and philanthropy. Join us to learn more about how you can use your buying power more effectively. With a representative from Kiva.org, Brent Schulkin from Carrotmob and Daniel Kaufman from the One Percent Foundation. This event is generously sponsored by the Koret Foundation."

"San Francisco faces yet another budget deficit in the hundreds of millions of dollars. What will we do to close that gap? What services will be cut and what new revenues could be found? Are there any opportunities for savings by restructuring the way our local government works? Join us for a sneak preview of the key issues in the upcoming budget discussion. We will be joined by Greg Wagner, the Mayor's Office Budget Director and Ben Rosenfield, City Controller."

"As an internationally known city planner and urban designer and the founder of SOM’s San Francisco-based Urban Design & Planning Studio, John Kriken is one of the country’s most experienced city planners. Join us welcome the release of his new book, City Building: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's Critical Planning Principles for the 21st Century, and learn about Kriken’s experience with the very messy art of city planning. Reception to follow."

"Over a decade ago, Oakland embarked on a major project to remake the northern edge of its downtown. Dubbed “Uptown,” the mixed-use community developed by Forest City includes 665 rental apartments (25 percent of which are affordable units), 9,000-square-feet of neighborhood retail space and a 25,000-square-foot public park. Hear how this LEED Silver residential project (Oakland's first) fits into the City's plans for future growth. With Abigail Friedland and Jim Ostrom of Forest City and Jens Hillmer of the Community and Economic Development Agency of the City of Oakland."

"After the initial devastation of a natural disaster comes the long process of rebuilding communities in the affected areas. Co-founders Kate Stohr and Cameron Sinclair of Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit design services firm, will talk about their involvement in long-term rebuilding initiatives in Haiti. The organization has significant experience in leading the reconstruction of transitional and permanent infrastructure in post-disaster contexts. Already working in Haiti prior to the earthquake, Architecture for Humanity has also been involved in rebuilding efforts post-tsunami in India and Sri Lanka and in the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina."

"One of the most visible effects of the downturn in the economy is the near freeze in private new construction, creating a sea of vacant lots—5299 in San Francisco, to be precise, adding up to approximately 250 acres. Learn about proposals for a network of temporary parks at 399 Fremont Street, which would provide a common refuge for people, birds and butterflies using the vocabulary of the construction site. With landscape architects Sarah Kuehl and Adam Greenspan of Peter Walker + Partners and architects Owen Kennerly and Sarina Bowen of Kennerly Architecture & Planning."

"Located in San Francisco’s Bayview District, Armstrong Place is a great example of transit-oriented development along Third Street, and lies just a block from a stop on the new Muni Third Street Light Rail. This affordable family townhouse community was designed and built in conjunction with the adjacent Armstrong Senior Housing, which brings new neighborhood-serving retail space and community services to the area. The tour will visit both sites. With architects David Baker and Kevin Wilcock."

"Discover lost freeways, ghosts of train routes, and a vivid account of how San Franciscans moved around this peninsula through time. Hear about the violent strikes that shaped public transit, the graft and corruption that conquered the Outside Lands. It's a social, historical and critical 4-hour tour through the city's transportation past and present."