In one of the densest, poorest and most dangerous San Francisco neighborhoods, a university class and an art gallery have created what they dub the Tenderloin National Forest. A San Francisco State University class and The Luggage Store Gallery have created a much needed green space, and appropriated the name and logo of the national forest service.

On the other side of the Atlantic, class spectrum and new versus old developments, today I also read about Vauban, a new suburb in Germany that puts cars in collective garages on the periphery and devotes its narrow alleys to pedestrians and bicycles. It is a new development on an old military base, connected to the city of Freiburg by tram. And it is planned to reduce global warming and to improve the residents’ quality of life. 

The funny thing is that this new suburb’s street priorities are not that different than most of residential Tokyo.

• A National Forest Sprouts Green Goodness in the Tenderloin (Fog City Journal)
• The Tenderloin National Forest (Carbon Farm US) 
• Exploring the Tenderloin National Forest (Laughing Squid)