sfenvironment.org

Parks & Open Spaces

Agencies Partners Links

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Everyone benefits from parks and open spaces, especially in an otherwise busy city. Stretches of green and trees uplift and inspire, keep kids off the streets, attract tourists, raise property values and, in general, contribute to the public health by reducing pollution and greenhouse gases. San Francisco is lucky enough to have more than its share of interested agencies and enthusiastic activist groups involved in promoting the use, maintenance, and beautification of our beautiful city's many parks and open spaces.

Agencies

• The Urban Forestry Council advises city departments, including the Board of Supervisors and the mayor.


• Department of Building Inspection - oversees the effective, efficient, fair, and safe enforcement of San Francisco's Building, Housing, Plumbing, Electrical, Mechanical, and Disability Access Codes


• Department of Public Works - responsible for streets, roads, and sidewalks in the City and County of San Francisco


• Bureau of Engineering/Department of Public Works - provides planning, project development, design and consulting services for city streets, infrastructure, and structures


• Bureau of Urban Forestry/Department of Public Works - committed to a policy of maintaining and expanding a diverse population of street trees as an essential component of the urban forest


• Municipal Transportation Agency - oversees all transit, parking, and traffic services offered by Muni and the Department of Parking and Traffic


• Planning Department - promotes the orderly, harmonious use of land and improved quality of life for our diverse community and future generations


• Recreation and Park Department - administers and maintains more than 200 parks, playgrounds, and open spaces throughout the city, including two outside the city limits: Sharp Park in Pacifica and Camp Mather in the High Sierras; is responsible for planting and maintenance of nearly all the trees in the city’s parks and open spaces; has reduced dependency on traditional pesticides to abate pests on their properties by as much as 50 percent since 2000, instead using presticide-free practices to remove weeds and pests


• San Francisco Arts Commission - champions the arts in San Francisco, with the belief that a creative cultural environment is essential to the city's well-being


• San Francisco Public Utilities Commission - provides water, sewage, and power services to a variety of customers in Northern California


• San Francisco Transportation Authority - administers and oversees the delivery of the Proposition K (Prop K) half-cent local transportation sales tax program and New Expenditure Plan, which was passed by 75 percent of San Francisco voters in November 2003


• San Francisco Department of the Environment(SF Environment) - works to improve, enhance, and preserve the environment and to promote San Francisco's long-term environmental well-being

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Partners

• Alliance for a Clean Waterfront - identifies and promotes technologies that use wastewater and its treatment for public beautification projects and provides environmental education


• Friends of the Urban Forest - promotes a larger, healthier urban forest as part of the urban ecosystem through community planting, maintenance, education, and advocacy


• Neighborhood Parks Council - seeks to launch a renaissance of the San Francisco city park and recreation system through community participation, with the goal of sustainable parks for future generations


• San Francisco Beautiful - works to create, enhance, and protect the unique beauty and livability of San Francisco


• San Francisco Bicycle Coalition - acts to improve conditions for bicyclists in San Francisco


• San Francisco Parks Trust - provides leadership and support to San Francisco's parks, open spaces, and recreation programs


• Livable City - works to create more great streets and complete neighborhoods, where walking, bicycling, and transit are the best choices for most trips; where public spaces are beautiful, well-designed, and well-maintained; and where housing is more plentiful and more affordable


• San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) - promotes good planning and government through research, analysis, public education, and advocacy


• Golden Gate National Recreation Area - U.S. National Recreation Area that surrounds the Bay Area: one of the most visited units of the National Park system and one of the largest urban parks in the world

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Links

Alemany Farm

Garden for the Environment

Nature in the City.org

Quesada Gardens

SFGRO - List of Community Gardens in SF

Strybing Arboretum

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