Weekly /r/UrbanPlanning Open Thread - What are you up to, whats on your mind? June 21, 2017

Hey all, I'm a college student studying mathematics, but since starting college, I've been watching tons of urban design videos and am beginning to read some of the literature. It has become one of my passions and a potential direction for my career to go in. I'm hoping to apply what I've learned to my hometown, because I believe, had my city developed before the advent of the car, it would be a beautiful coastal town.

But the past is the past, and I'm hoping to get fairly involved in the city government so that we can start to move in the right direction, especially since the huge traffic problems we have are forcing the city council/caltrains (this is in California) to consider expanding the main highway that runs right down the middle of the community. Even small steps would be awesome.

There are a large number of challenges here: - The town is long and narrow, with a highway running straight down the middle (lengthwise), separating the hills and the land next to the Ocean - It is almost completely 50's and 70's style sprawl - There are almost no public centers, only a couple of small malls and semi-busy side streets that are extremely disconnected - Large amount of NIMBY-ism, which is partially why the highway expansion hasn't happened (thankful for that part) - Basically a bedroom community because of how we are laid out - The only businesses that survive are the ones that people have to go to (fast food chains, supermarkets, small number of clothing stores, banks, etc.) - How boring it is (no night life or good public spaces) is probably a major contribution to why so many young people are either moving away or turning to the more exciting, but less safe things(lot's of meth use)

Why it's worth trying to fix: - The nature here is absolutely gorgeous, and would be even more so if a huge amount wasn't covered in parking lot's and streets. - People all around the greater San Francisco area flock to our beaches. The surf can be fantastic (we are 20 minutes from Mavericks) - We have a huge San Francisco Golden Gate recreational park system with incredible views of the Ocean - Lot's of whale watching - Longstanding surf and skating culture - Fun fact: one of the best fast food places in the whole world (admittedly not a very high standard) is in our town. We have a Taco Bell built right on the beach itself (it's built on a small wooden boardwalk, 20 feet from the water)

I really appreciate if you've read this far. I'm posting because part of me thinks that this is just too hard of a task, with not enough public will behind it, and wants to do the easy thing: move to a city that is already structured around walking (I'd love to live in Berlin, DC, Austin, Portland, etc.). But another part of me is optimistic and wants to stay here and try to improve my hometown.

If you have any general advice for me about urban design generally, about the politics of it, how to convince people that better urban design/new zoning laws are the solution. If you had any thoughts about the state of this place specifically, I'd really appreciate it. It's Pacifica, CA, here's a map of the place: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pacifica,+CA/

If you have any questions about it, I can answer them here. Thanks again!

Here is a picture of where I've been surfing recently: https://herjourneyto50.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/pacifica_beach-12399239.jpg

/r/urbanplanning Thread