San Francisco City Planning
BETTER MARKET STREET INITIATIVE
A systems-thinking approach to measuring the impact of placemaking
The City of San Francisco introduced Living Innovation Zones (LIZ) to re-establish Market Street as the city's economic, cultural, and civic artery. The Exploratorium installed the first LIZ— an exhibit designed to attract pedestrians and spark interaction. MKThink was engaged to measure the impact of this placemaking initiative. The analysis focused on pedestrian flow along the corridor, collecting data from MUNI stops and bike-share stations. Sensors deployed at the installation detected cellular devices as a proxy to measure foot traffic and linger time. This data collection is the first phase of a systems-thinking analysis that examines the factors that impact placemaking. Insights into how people interact with their urban environments will inform future strategies for revitalizing public spaces.
CHALLENGE
To re-establish Market Street as an economic, cultural, and civic artery of the city.
APPROACH
MKThink's analysis focused on pedestrian flow along the corridor, collecting data from MUNI stops and bike-share stations. Sensors deployed at the installation detected cellular devices as a proxy to measure foot traffic and linger time.
RESULT
A systems-thinking analysis that examined the factors that impact placemaking.
DATE
2013 - 2014
CITY
San Francisco
STATE
California
SIZE/SCALE
3,000 SF
MARKET
City Planning
SERVICES
Experiment Design, Data Collection, Data Analysis, and Data Visualization.