Feature

by Alexa Fábrega

One of the requirements for a sustainable San Francisco is the presence of accessible nature for the city’s residents. San Francisco benefits from Golden Gate Park, Stern Grove and the Presidio, along with a number of neighborhood parks and street trees throughout the city. But paved surfaces such as roads, parking lots, sidewalks and buildings are predominant in the urban landscape, covering a quarter of the surface of San Francisco. These paved surfaces can be turned into fertile ground for the cultivation of green and open spaces in our city.

Paved impervious surfaces hinder the penetration of water and air into the soil. One of the significant consequences of expansive impervious areas, which are unable to absorb rainfall, is the increase of storm water runoff that puts critical pressure on the city’s combined storm drainage and sewage system. In response to such concerns, the introduction of permeable landscapes can act as a means of flood control, curbing pollution from surrounding waterways.

The implementation of permeable landscaping in previously impervious surfaces is straightforward, as it simply requires that the impermeable surface materials be replaced with soil, plant material, rock or porous manmade materials, to enable the ground to “breathe” again. The conversion of impervious surfaces into permeable ones contributes to the ecological health of the city. It creates green and open spaces that are beneficial to people, as well as making new habitats for birds, insects and butterflies. Moreover, permeable landscapes contribute to the beautification of neighborhoods and create opportunities for community interaction.

What Is Plant*SF?
Permeable landscaping plays an important role in the urban environment as it can help neighborhoods achieve many ecological and social benefits. Plant*SF is at the forefront of this movement in San Francisco. Since the inception of the organization in 2004, Plant*SF has promoted the benefits of permeable landscapes through partnerships with the city, including the Department of the Environment and the mayor’s office. It has also collaborated with a number of local organizations, such as the Neighborhood Parks Council and the Friends of the Urban Forest, as well as various neighborhood associations and individuals.

Plant*SF encourages the cultivation of permeable landscaping through the use of Sidewalk Landscaping Permits issued by the San Francisco Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Urban Forestry, which facilitates property owners to implement landscaping in public right-of-way areas, such as sidewalks. Plant*SF also coordinates such plantings, educates people about the use of native and drought-tolerant plant species for permeable landscaping, researches permeable materials as alternatives for paving, and advocates sustainable water practices through ground water recharge, roof drain diversion and water reclamation.

Plant*SF has worked extensively to encourage and enable individuals to utilize the existing permit process to convert areas in the public right-of-way, namely sidewalks, into permeable landscapes like exposed-earth gardens. In partnership with the City of San Francisco and its various local agencies, Plant*SF has worked to streamline the permit process to facilitate permeable landscaping on sidewalks, and collaborated with DPW to coauthor a permit that is specific to permeable landscaping and sidewalk planting. This is a landmark step toward a sustainable San Francisco; in many other cities, street beautification and park programs have endured reduced investments in the recent past, but initiatives such as the Sidewalk Landscaping Permit can reverse such trends and promote urban planting efforts.

Permeable Landscaping
The involvement of the city’s residents is a vital aspect in breaking new ground for permeable landscaping. Along with the ecological benefits of urban plantings, there are many economic benefits as well. Street beautification efforts can influence increases in property values, which concurrently can have an effect on decreasing graffiti and crime on the street. Safe and attractive sidewalks are beneficial to all, but they are especially valuable to property owners, because when there are damages and defects on the sidewalk, timely repair is mandated by DPW and is the responsibility of the property owner. When complaints of unsafe sidewalk conditions are reported to DPW, the area is inspected and the property owner is issued a “Notice to Repair,” which designates 30 days to make the repairs. In order to comply with this notice, the property owner must acquire a permit to repair the sidewalk. The Sidewalk Landscaping Permit satisfies the requirements for such a notice, and is an excellent option because instead of replacing the defective sidewalk with new slabs of concrete, the permeable landscaping can provide long-term benefits that are relatively low-maintenance, ecological and beautiful. It also alleviates the wear and tear inherent in concrete sidewalks.

Although the process requires the signature of property owners first, Plant*SF has observed cases where renters have been involved in the planning and planting stages. The involvement and interaction of the neighborhood residents–renters and property owners coming together to realize permeable landscaping–is a great process for community building. When residents become engaged in a collaborative process, it can bring awareness to the presence of each other, as well as to the place in which they live. For example, in a Plant*SF-facilitated neighborhood planting on Shotwell Street in 2005, residents and owners from 15 properties joined together to remove over 3,100 square feet of concrete on both sides of Shotwell between 17th and 18th streets.

Plant*SF is available to educate people about the many benefits of permeable landscaping, as well as to recommend available services for the design, installation and permit process required for this type of landscaping. A sustainable San Francisco can be made one sidewalk at a time, and every resident can aspire to cultivate permeable landscapes on every block, in every neighborhood; take the first step and contact Plant*SF today.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of SFAA or SF Apartment Magazine. Alexa Fábrega holds a B.F.A. in Interior Architecture from California College of the Arts in Oakland and a Master’s degree in Environment and Resource Management from Free University in Amsterdam. For more information about Plant*SF, call 415-431-2777 or email info@plantsf.org. Copyright © 2007 by SF Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.