Honor Award

Ridge Lane

San Francisco, CA

Lead Landscape Architect: Nahal Sohbati

Academy of Art

Client: Ridge Lane Neighbors

As urbanization grows, the value of public open spaces becomes more vital. The City of San Francisco contains more than 1,500 vacant lots that total an area approximately half the size of Golden Gate Park. Social and biotic values of these scattered and downtrodden sites are underutilized, thus leaving voids in underserved communities.

The Ridge Lane project is a revitalization of one of these vacant lots that has adapted a grass-roots strategy with the goal of empowering the community to become involved in all phases of the project from visioning to implementation, giving them a sense of pride and ownership of their neighborhood. Meticulous analysis and incorporation of the neighbors ' feedback resulted in a design that celebrates their shared appreciation of Ridge Lane 's unique ecological and social factors.

The metamorphosis of Ridge Lane from an abandoned wasteland to a community gem interweaves ecology, design, and social factors resulting in a beneficial environment for all of its inhabitants.