About HOPE SF: Neighborhood Improvements
A Holistic Approach to Neighborhoods
HOPE SF is pioneering a new approach to redevelopment that focuses on the health and stability of the whole community, not just its buildings. Recognizing that success requires more than housing, HOPE SF includes a comprehensive family strengthening strategy that emphasizes education from cradle to college, financial literacy and vibrant community facilities. At the heart of HOPE SF’s approach to creating healthy communities are the service connectors: on-site staff that links residents to health care, job training, education, and other asset-building programs.
More than just a public housing redevelopment project, HOPE SF will help solve San Francisco’s affordable-housing crisis by providing a range of options for families from all income brackets. New public housing units will be built alongside affordable rental units and market rate homes—adding to the area’s diversity while increasing homeownership opportunities for many San Franciscans who have been priced out of the housing market. By investing in schools and the community supports needed to transform these neighborhoods, HOPE SF will create new housing opportunities that appeal to a diverse range of San Franciscans.
HOPE SF will build or improve:
| • | Economically Integrated Communities |
| • | Neighborhood Schools |
| • | Parks and Open Space |
| • | Transportation |
| • | Public Safety |
| • | Economic Development of Neighborhoods |
In 2011, the Campaign for HOPE SF brought together local experts in education, health, and economic mobility to lay out initial strategies for improving outcomes in for HOPE SF residents in these areas. Today, HOPE SF developers, community leaders, Campaign leaders, and public agency staff continue to work with the San Francisco Unified School District, Department of Public Health, and Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development to implement these and other strategic priorities.
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Economically Integrated Communities
HOPE SF seeks to create neighborhoods desirable to households from every budget.
HOPE SF will offer housing options to fit every budget. This will enable families to move within their existing neighborhood as their life circumstances change. Current residents will have priority for first-time homebuyer homes. Individual asset accounts (IDAs) and homebuyer-counseling programs will support residents who are ready to embark on a home purchase.
HOPE SF developments will include the following housing options:
| • | Public housing replacement units (affordable to extremely low-income families). |
| • | Affordable rental housing (affordable to a family of four earning about $48,400 per year). |
| • | First-time homebuyer homes (approximately $200,000 to $300,000 for a two-bedroom unit). |
| • | Market-rate homes (ranging from $400,000 to $700,000 for a two-bedroom unit). |
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Neighborhood Schools
All families deserve access to quality education.
Research demonstrates that:
| • | Good schools help create attractive neighborhoods. |
| • | Children do better in school when they live in high quality housing. |
| • | Families with affordable housing move around less, so teaching and learning improve. |
| • | Healthy children are ready to learn. |
| • | Schools with parental involvement build community. |
| • | Community relationships and networks lead to job opportunities. |
HOPE SF will work with the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to improve local schools. With Avery Foundation support, HOPE SF partnered with the SFUSD, the John Stewart Company, and U.C. Berkeley's Center for Cities and Schools on a report recommending ways to enhance the educational opportunities of Hunters View residents and working with Malcolm X Elementary School students on mapping what they would like to see in the revitalized Hunters View.
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Parks and Open Space
Great communities need safe, usable open spaces.
HOPE SF communities will be defined by the quality of their parks and open spaces. Neighborhood parks are critical to getting children to exercise more, and living close to green space is associated with better health of all community residents.
Many existing HOPE SF sites have open spaces that are not welcoming or usable. Limited funding has necessitated limited landscaping on many Housing Authority sites. Trees are rare and only patchy crab-grass grows in parks and open spaces. HOPE SF will work with residents to improve parks and open spaces so they serve as places for recreation and neighborhood interaction.
The work underway includes the following:
| • | At Sunnydale and Potrero, community gardening projects will improve access to fresh produce and beautify the property. |
| • | Youth Park near Hunters View will be redesigned into a hub of family resources, providing support to parents and students alike. |
| • | Site planning processes underway at Sunnydale, Potrero, and Westside Courts involve residents in designing community centers and gathering spaces that are welcoming and usable for all. |
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Transportation
Better transportation access and options will improve the lives of HOPE SF residents.
Connecting residents to services, entertainment, shopping, and jobs relies on transportation alternatives that allow ready access to the surrounding city and region. The transformation to mixed-income communities will catalyze transportation improvements to sites that are currently isolated. The HOPE SF team has engaged early in broad community planning for sites and will continue to work with the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency and other public and private agencies to achieve the following:
| • | Create safe, quality environments for walking and biking; |
| • | Provide affordable and accessible public transportation options; and |
| • | Minimize private motor vehicle trips and miles traveled. |
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Public Safety
Many people in HOPE SF developments have been victims of violence. Such violence has a profound and lasting effect on any person, but it has a particularly strong impact on young people.
Designing safe, livable neighborhoods is essential to achieving HOPE SF’s goals. To achieve this objective, HOPE SF is focusing on:
| • | Creating architecture, landscaping, and site design that enhance safety. Urban design principles, such as defensible space, public visibility, and well-defined and secured public spaces, reduce crime. |
| • | Laying out streets and buildings in ways that improve public safety. |
| • | Fostering partnerships with community members and the SFPD to develop site-specific strategies to improve public safety. |
| • | Hosting community building activities that bring residents together to tackle issues of shared concern, including safety. Where residents are interested, Community Builders will help establish Neighborhood Watch associations. |
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Economic Development of Neighborhoods
Thriving and sustainable mixed-income communities benefit the lives of all people in the community and become catalysts for economic activity. HOPE SF will improve the economic health and viability of communities.
| • | Businesses such as grocery stores, dry cleaners, and retail shops will be attracted to a safe and more prosperous community. |
| • | Resident families with more spending power will help attract new neighborhood businesses and investment, in turn adding more jobs and economic opportunity within the community. |
| • | Increased property values, attraction of new businesses, and job training and placement services support new job growth and financial sustainability. |
| • | HOPE SF’s development investment will create jobs. HOPE SF is partnering with city agencies and community-based organizations to ensure that residents interested in construction jobs are qualified for these positions as soon as they are available. Building short-term construction jobs into lasting career opportunities is a tremendous opportunity. Learn more about work and job training opportunities with HOPE SF. |
| • | Community engagement in the neighborhood design includes opportunities for sustainable jobs and income growth, including more small businesses, home-based businesses, and neighborhood services. |
Read about specific HOPE SF sites:
Hunters View
Potrero
Sunnydale
Westside Courts
Alice Griffith
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