Valerie Carrasco

"In San Francisco, the Better Streets Plan creates a vision and provides guidelines for making the city's streets safer, greener and more enjoyable for all. After nearly three years of work and over 80 public meetings, the Plan is nearing its completion. Come hear about the Plan’s vision for the future of San Francisco’s streets and next steps to put the Plan into action, and bring your ideas for a discussion about the role of the street in the public life of the city. Speakers include Adam Varat, San Francisco Planning Department and other speakers from Better Streets Plan team."

"Got the gift of gab? Volunteer to phone bank with the SFBC! No cold calling, just simple reminders to friendly lapsed SFBC members that their membership is expired. Come share in the fun. The more the merrier! We supply dinner and good company."

"While the strong geometry of the classical era and pervasive 19th-century design features still influences Paris’ park form, new tastes in planting design, sustainability and recreational policies have begun to shape the city's new public spaces. Fresh from Paris, Marilyn Clemens will illustrate examples of new transit and roadway design benefitting pedestrians and bicyclists and environmental education in the parks." 

"What is the future of manufacturing and industrial production in U.S. cities? Can it be done sustainably? Join us for an evening discussion with writer and professor Joan Fitzgerald. Professor Fitzgerald directs the Law, Policy and Society Program at Northeastern University and has written extensively on the role of industry as part of the shift to a green economy. She will give us a preview of her book Emerald Cities: Urban Sustainability and Economic Development, to be published by Oxford University Press in January 2010." 

"Local governments are the "first responders" to social, environmental and economic disruptions resulting from natural disasters and must anticipate, prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. The Center for Clean Air Policy's Urban Leaders Initiative has documented U.S. cities' preparations for climate change, including New York, Miami, Chicago and Seattle. CCAP's California Director, Ann Chan, will talk about best practices and the national dialogue on climate adaptation." 

"Over the past century, mean sea level has risen nearly eight inches at the Golden Gate in San Francisco. It is expected to rise between four and feet by 2100. A recent report by the Pacific Institute concludes that sea level rise will change the character of the California coast, and that adaptation strategies must be evaluated, tested and implemented if the risks identified in the report are to be reduced or avoided. What will be the social implications of these changes? With author Matt Heberger."

"From the Beat movement and City Lights to McSweeney’s, San Francisco has been shaped by its literary history.  But this history does not simply lie in the texts produced by the writers—it was also a history produced in the city’s fabric, in literary movements that defined and influenced people and place. Join us in exploring the role of literature in shaping our local cultural understanding of Urbanism and policy-making. The SPUR Young Urbanists welcome writer Stephen Elliott of the San Francisco Writer's Grotto and editor of The Rumpus, writer and City Lights editor Elaine Katzenberger and poet Matthew Zapruder, the forum moderator, for an evening that explores [Literature] in the City."

"Sea level rise in San Francisco Bay will challenge the 40 year-old legal framework, which manages development on the Bay's shoreline. How will we adjust? Will Travis, executive director of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, will discuss opportunities to amend the Bay Plan to increase our region's resilience to climate change." 

"As shuttle services have proliferated over the past few years, questions have emerged regarding how to best incorporate them into San Francisco’s overall transportation system. A recent report, commissioned by Supervisor Bevan Dufty, examines shuttle services in terms of their costs and benefits, while also exploring their regulatory environment and co-existence with other transportation services such as BART and Caltrain and with the neighborhoods which they serve and traverse.  With San Francisco County Transportation Authority Staff."  

"Please join SPUR for what has become one of our most popular traditions: the post-election recap. David Latterman and Alex Clemens give us an insider’s look into what happened and why. They'll also be lending insight into the fall 2010 election, which promises to provide fireworks."