Sustainable building design and sustainable planning are important and timely topics here at EHDD Architecture and here in San Francisco. Despite my professed love of Italy and the Mediterranean lifestyle, I have always been baffled by the world-famous dysfunctional Italian institutions, such as their ever-changing government, the moribund postal system, and the unsustainable pension packages, to name a few. Sound familiar? My visit to Rome this summer, however, was one pleasant urban experience after another, and I found myself constantly asking if Rome can do it, why can’t San Francisco?
What follows is my short and personal list of things I saw in Rome that I would love for San Francisco to get to work on. The city by the Tiber is by no means the leader in any of these things, but if it can be done in the capital city of a country that is barely a functioning country, then we have no excuse not to get it done here in the city by the bay.
Streets
Overhead utility lines: I realize that after the destruction and bombardment of many European cities in World War II, rebuilding efforts included undergrounding overhead electrical and phone wires. While America was building freeways, however, Italy and other countries were putting the lines and wires underground. How can San Francisco profess to be the center of 21st century technological innovation when I look out my window and see a tangled mass of electrical and telephone line spaghetti (or is it linguini?), i.e.: 19th century technology strung from wood poles.
Sidewalk Commerce: Many of the traffic medians and islands, the sidewalks and leftover outdoor spaces in and around Roman intersections and public spaces, get turned over to small espresso stands, newsstands, flower stands, bars, and ristorantes. San Francisco can be chillier than Rome, for sure, but given our obsession with food and coffee, what better way to activate car-dominated public spaces and corridors than by adding a couple of chairs, umbrellas and an espresso machine or curry cart? The Parklets movement in San Francisco is a step in the right direction, as well as the Valencia Street sidewalk enhancements in the Mission District, but look down Market or Folsom Streets and imagine tables and chairs, coffee and tea, lawyers and art students all lounging together in harmony.
Aqua: I don’t think this idea would ever fly here in our dry state, so save your email retorts. Rome has drinking water fountains all over the city in piazzas, on sidewalks and in the alleys, all fed by the same aqueducts or sources that have been supplying potable water from the mountains to the city since ancient times. Here’s the best part: the water is cold, great-tasting, it’s free and it comes out of the spout continuously, 24/7. How civilized is that? No more bottled water. Dogs love them. Ornamental fountains and drinking fountains are everywhere. Just have a sip, or fill up your own water bottle.
Transit
Buses and Streetcars: Rome and San Francisco are pretty evenly matched here, but I will give Rome the edge on efficiency (yes, Italian efficiency—who knew!?) for a great transit system that covers the entire metro area and a single bus trip that still costs about $1.40. ATAC (the Roman transit system) has a fleet of small electric buses that traverse the pedestrian-only zones and medieval districts where the streets are very narrow. These electric “baby buses,” as my son dubbed them, are quiet, zero-emissions vehicles and are perfect for tight streets and busy tourist areas.
Congestion Pricing: There are certain neighborhoods in Rome such as the historic Centro and the Trastevere neighborhood that either get a lot of vehicle traffic (tourist and otherwise), and/or have a thick fabric of narrow medieval alleys and streets. To discourage drivers from entering these congested areas, electronic gateways notify when the congestion pricing is active and charge accordingly for outsiders (residents of those streets get a break and scooters are exempt). People will always get to Coit Tower or the Pantheon without driving their own car—this is a really great way to reduce congestion and fuel use, and it forces visitors to walk and experience things outside of their car.
Trains: Anyone who has any doubt about building a bullet train in California need only ride the Frecciarossa from Rome to Naples or from Rome to Milan to be sold on high-speed rail. Cruising speed is 225 mph, there is plenty of room for those infernal wheelie-suitcases, there are beautiful train coaches with comfortable seats, and there is an espresso cart coming down the aisle. These Italian train fares were comparable to Southwest Airline flights between northern and southern California and the trains were full. Jobs, civilized travel and fewer carbon-spewing airplanes and cars. Enough said.
Food
Health & Diet: Diet gurus and Bay Area chefs have been extolling the virtues of the Mediterranean diet for decades. Suffice it to say that eating fresh, locally produced food is good for you, good for your city and good for your planet, and it turns out it tastes better. Romans have a long tradition of growing some of their own food—either in pots, or plots within or outside of the city. They also eat only what is in season and pretty much stick to regionally grown food. No strawberries in January from Mexico or even artichokes from the south of France. You eat what is coming out of the ground, and when it is done you move on to the next crop. We here in the Bay Area are blessed with a similar climate to Rome and the local food movement is firmly entrenched here and in other cities, and is hopefully spreading to the lands of frozen and processed foods. Eating local means less fuel spent on shipping food across state lines or oceans and supporting local farmers and businesses, and eating fruits and vegetables, just like your mom told you to……and it tastes better.
Waste Management: Apparently when a city of several million people eats mostly fresh food and very little processed food, there is a resultant decrease in landfill that must be collected in a dense urban fabric and trucked outside of the city to be dealt with. I kept asking the locals I met in Rome where the garbage bins for their apartments were kept. By most accounts, there aren’t any. Most households just bring down a small bag of household waste when ready, and drop it in a mini-dumpster somewhere on their block or nearby. Fresh food in, less garbage out, less landfill, and less fuel used to transport waste to the landfill.
Many Europeans and Americans are quick to compare Rome to Washington, D.C. (seats of power, lots of museums, somewhat provincial) and to compare Milan to New York City (finance and fashion centers, and oh-so-cosmopolitan). I am here to tell you that it’s not that simple. There are a lot more scooters in Rome and women’s skirts tend to be a lot shorter there, than in D.C. I contend that Rome actually has a lot more in common with San Francisco: both cities have the Mediterranean climate and quality of light, lots of hills, great food, coffee and ice cream, and an aversion towards contemporary architecture.
Rome and San Francisco also have a reputation for being first-adopters of many things that seem crazy at first to the rest of the world, but often become the norm with the passing of time. San Franciscans, like Romans, are by and large thick-skinned, and deal with the funny looks or accusations of being weird with a shrug and a response that “someday you’ll understand why. Trust me.” It is my hope that we can continue to lead the charge on re-energizing and maximizing our wonderful urban fabric and infrastructure, to be smarter with our limited resources, and leverage all of the great public amenities and resources that we all enjoy on a daily basis that makes our fair city such a wonderful place to visit, or call home, just like Rome.
Kevin Killen, AIA, LEED® AP
Director, Residential Studio
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