Modeling the City ― Hills, Sunlight, and Shadows: Decisions That Shape Downtown

On the occasion of the exhibition Public Knowledge: Take Part, SFMOMA and the San Francisco Public Library are hosting a series of panel discussions addressing big ideas around what it means to live in a city. Titled Modeling the City, the series brings together speakers from diverse fields to discuss urgent topics related to urban living, such as the effects of climate change and the role of community organizing, using a 1938 Works Progress Administration (WPA) scale model of San Francisco to visualize and contextualize these conversations.

In the talk Hills, Sunlight, and Shadows: Decisions That Shape Downtown, current and former San Francisco city planners discuss the sometimes invisible but numerous public policies that have shaped Downtown and SOMA over decades. Explore the ideas, people, and shifts in power associated with the changing city, and learn how you can be involved in the planning process.

Find event listings for all Modeling the City discussions here.

Public Knowledge is organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in partnership with the San Francisco Public Library. The project has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in Public Knowledge do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.