[BTinSF]

Friday, February 19, 2010
Planners envision green, walkable Treasure Island
San Francisco Business Times - by Eric Young

As they set out to build San Francisco’s newest neighborhood, Treasure Island planners are also trying to build its “greenest” neighborhood.

The 403-acre site, erected on landfill where the 1939 World’s Fair was held, will have as many as 8,000 homes, more than 400 hotel rooms, a shopping district and the second largest amount of open space in the city behind Golden Gate Park.

Guiding architects, developers and city officials has been an effort to create San Francisco’s most sustainable area . . . .

A vital element of Treasure Island’s plan stems from having highrise, mid-rise and other closely packed housing within about a quarter mile of a planned ferry landing and shopping district. That “density” — as it’s called in planning parlance — means most residents would be within walking distance of shops, other services and ferry service, reducing the need for cars . . . .

As a result, the island has large expanses of open space — about 330 acres worth — rather than pockets of smaller parks like those that dot the rest of San Francisco. Ball fields, urban farms and wetlands, for example, are all connected.

Planning for prevailing winds and the arc of the sun were another major influence on Treasure Island’s design . . . .

The streets on the island will intersect at 68 degrees — rather than the traditional 90 degrees — to give homes maximum exposure to the sun’s path and minimum exposure to westerly winds . . . .

Lines of trees and other shrubbery will be planted in open spaces to provide wind breaks. Also, along the edge of the island, berms will help disrupt the wind along walking paths . . . .

The island . . . will treat its own wastewater and recycle water for irrigation . . . .

Source: http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/...22/focus4.html