(Written by Jordan Weinberg, Steven Peck, Devon Pack, and Elisha St. Laurent)
SJSU Master of Urban Planning students, led by Rick Kos, AICP and Project Advisor Don Weden, in partnership with CommUniverCity and with guidance from the City of San José Department of Transportation, embarked on an ambitious effort in fulfillment of their program’s Fall 2023 studio class. Students developed a comprehensive, forward-looking set of guiding principles and policies for North San José’s redevelopment, employing an innovative approach combining both planning and placemaking best practices.
In doing so, students considered a broad range of challenges the study area faces today and must overcome in the future as it relates to the present street design, transportation network, and land uses.
North San José – Past, Present and Future
Through this report, students have contributed the latest attempt in a long line of placemaking efforts dating back to 1974, when the City of San José began implementation of the Rincon de Los Esteros Development Plan. It was around this time that North San José began to shed the last remnants of its agricultural past on the way to becoming the Innovation Triangle (also known as the Golden Triangle), a hub of light industrial operations and business parks. These new land uses led to the emergence of a unique part of San Jose, one that was not predominantly zoned for single-family residential development that characterizes much of the nation’s 12th-largest city. Read the full article in the section URBP 295 – Berryessa.
Students hope their report, “City Streams and Community Dreams: Placemaking Strategies in North San jose‘,” can serve as a model for how North San José can intelligently plan for current and future development and effectively manage the transition from its present to future form. To view the report, click aquí
