The Greening of Mobility in San Francisco

Abstract

San Francisco has witnessed a flurry of interest in alternative transportation during the last fifteen years. Much of this interest has been inspired by grassroots movements to envision a new kind of city and act on that vision to foster a “politics of possibility.” This chapter explores the launching of two successful green mobility initiatives: the expansion of the city’s bicycle transportation program and the launching of a citywide car-sharing service. The impacts of these initiatives have been profound, affecting not only travel, parking, and automobile ownership, but also the planning code of the city of San Francisco. These developments point to the important role mobilization by grassroots activists and social entrepreneurship played as prime movers behind the city of San Francisco’s green transportation initiatives.