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.

In July 2021, the City of San Francisco created a pathway to make these pandemic-era outdoor spaces permanent. SF New Deal has worked in partnership with the City to help hundreds of small businesses access grants and support to bring their parklets into compliance and activate them with arts & culture programming.  Through this work we have seen first hand how parklets are critical to an enduring and vibrant streetscape in San Francisco. 

Our experience has helped us closely understand the barriers many small businesses face participating in the Shared Spaces program, and the challenges they experience throughout the process of designing, permitting, constructing, operating and maintaining parklets while running their businesses day-to-day. We understand the ways in which it can be daunting for many small business owners, and we also know how we can make it easier for them to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from the economic and cultural vitality of our neighborhoods.

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.

In partnership with the City of San Francisco, SF New Deal is building on the progress of the Shared Spaces program and creating a vision for the future through a new pilot program: Building Blocks. 

Building Blocks reimagines how public and commercial spaces are designed, constructed, and maintained to reduce the burden on small business operators and enhance street-level vibrancy. 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.

Building Blocks will create an opportunity and easily accessible pathway for small businesses to be part of the Shared Spaces program. Leveraging our work in partnership with the City, SF New Deal will oversee the design, permitting, construction, operation, and maintenance of Building Blocks, simplifying the process for small businesses to engage in and benefit from these vibrant spaces.

We will pilot this program along Clement Street in the Richmond and Mission Street in the Excelsior, partnering with urban design innovator John Bela, and we invite you, our community, 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.