San Francisco, California

Bayview Community Based Transportation Plan

2021 Advancing Diversity & Social Change in Honor of Paul Davidoff

Building Trust Through Community Voices

 

The Bayview Community-Based Transportation Plan (Bayview CBTP) represents a new commitment to the long-underserved Bayview-Hunters Point community in the southeast corner of San Francisco, California. Partnering with trusted community organizations, the planning team at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) developed innovative community engagement efforts like a Youth Transportation Summit and a documentary film created by Bayview youth to give a voice to the needs, challenges, and values of Bayview residents — and educate the younger generation about planning in the process.

The community relationships built throughout this planning effort were built on a promise of trust, transparency, and accountability. As a testament to that promise, the planning team agreed to a pilot participatory budget process in which residents control the use of transportation funding. A GIS-based equity index tool to identify concentrations of residents vulnerable to transportation challenges was also brought to the community for recalibration, giving residents even more of a voice in shaping the future of Bayview. The final plan outlines action items for both short and long-term implementation, and the highest priority recommendation — the return of the 15 bus line to downtown San Francisco, 15 years after it was discontinued — has already been implemented. The final plan includes recommendations that expand beyond the scope of the Bayview CBTP to tackle everything from transit service and safety to anti-displacement strategies, further demonstrating the planning team's commitment to centering the voices and needs of the community.