Building Blocks: Reimagining San Francisco's Shared Spaces

In early 2020, San Francisco's cityscape transformed as the pandemic limited indoor gatherings. The city quickly authorized the construction of parklets and outdoor dining areas, known as Shared Spaces. These installations, ranging from simple designs to elaborate setups, became beacons of vibrancy in our neighborhoods, creating revenue opportunities for businesses and safe gathering spaces for the community.

However, by 2022, maintaining these Shared Spaces presented new challenges. The city required compliance upgrades for these pandemic-era installations to remain permanent. Unfortunately, navigating this process proved daunting for many small business owners. 

With a 110-page manual to decipher and multiple city agencies to satisfy, over 80% of parklets built in 2020 are not compliant with the new guidelines.

Despite the original enthusiasm, as of April 2024, only 165 businesses have achieved permanent status.

Enter SF New Deal's innovative solution: Building Blocks

SF New Deal will oversee the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of Building Blocks, simplifying the process for small businesses to benefit from these vibrant spaces.

This new pilot program reimagines how public and commercial spaces are designed, constructed, and maintained to reduce the burden on small business operators and enhance street-level vibrancy. Inspired by successful models in other cities, Building Blocks are easy to install, feature a clean modern design, and offer shared maintenance and upkeep costs. These units are modular and adaptable, designed to seamlessly integrate into San Francisco's unique neighborhoods.

Over the past year, SF New Deal has helped hundreds of small businesses as they navigated the costly and complex process to keep their parklets and we are now prepared to take the lead. Leaning on our domain expertise, SF New Deal will oversee the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of Building Blocks, simplifying the process for small businesses to engage in and benefit from these vibrant spaces.

As we pilot this program along Clement Street and Mission Street, partnering with urban design innovator John Bela, we invite the community and city leaders to join us. 

Support Building Blocks and be part of a movement to sustain and enhance the economic and community benefits of Shared Spaces in San Francisco. Help make this vision a reality.

Join us in building a vibrant future for San Francisco—one parklet, and one block at a time.