Public Space Stewardship Guide

Published: March 2016

by SF Planning, The Streets Plan Collaborative, MJM Management Group

A toolkit for funding, programming and maintenance of public spaces in San Francisco.

The San Francisco Planning Department, in partnership with the Street Plans Collaborative and MJM Management group, developed the “Public Space Stewardship Guide: a toolkit for funding, programming, and maintenance.” The guide highlights a national survey of best practices, presented as both a print guide and live website.

The Guide presents five models for sustainable public space stewardship; Event-Based Models, Grassroots Partnerships, Public/Private Partnerships, Self-Governing Special Assessment Districts, and Maintenance/Technical Assistance Partnerships. Each section introduces a model in general terms, provides an illustrative case study in detail, and includes additional examples. The models provide a helpful framework for understanding each project, but many case studies integrate more than one model. Each case study has strengths and weaknesses unique to the objectives, funding and capacity of the stewarding organization or partnership. Case studies were selected to represent a range of organizations, space types, “use levels,” and budgets.

In the Resources section, you’ll find ready-to-use tools, including a recommended outline for a public space management plan, maintenance plan templates, and a guide to funding sources which references additional case studies.

Click below to download the guide, or visit: http://publicspacestewardship.org/ to download and see other resources and materials.

Download PDF 58 MB