A Negotiated Landscape: The Transformation of San Franciscos Waterfront since 1950 [Paperback]

A Negotiated Landscapeexamines the transformation of San Francisco’s iconic waterfront from the eve of its decline in 1950 to the turn of the millennium. What was once a major shipping port is now best known for leisure and entertainment.
            To understand this landscape Jasper Rubin not only explores the built environment but also the major forces that have been at work in its redevelopment. While factors such as new transportation technology and economic restructuring have been essential to the process and character of the waterfront’s transformation, the impact of local, grassroots efforts by planners, activists, and boosters have been equally critical.
            The first edition ofA Negotiated Landscapewon the 2012 prize for best book in planning history from the International Planning History Society. Much has changed in the five years since that edition was published. For this second edition, Rubin provides a new concluding chapter that updates the progress of planning on San Francisco’s waterfront and examines debates over the newest visions for its development.

“Jasper Rubin provides a detailed, well-researched, and engaging narrative and an important explanation for the transformation of a key American waterfront. For those interested in the historical evolution of urban planning vis-à-vis port cities, Rubin has done much to illuminate the many people and processes that shaped San Francisco’s waterfront landscape.”
—Planning Perspectives

“Jasper Rubin not only provides the details of the many visions for the waterfront and the disagreements that led to San Francisco’s current planning process, but he also points to trends in planning that have been influential in many other cities.”
—Social and CultlS·