Market Street Reimagined

Market Street Reimagined

Market Street has long run through the heart of San Francisco. What if it became the heart itself?

This vision reimagines Market Street as San Francisco’s living heart: emotionally resonant, ecologically grounded and socially magnetic. No longer just a corridor to pass through, it becomes a destination, a civic commons where cultures, communities and everyday rhythms converge.

Historic streetcars glide along a re-imagined Market Loop, linking the Ferry Building to Civic Center. With private cars removed and people-first mobility prioritised, the street slows to a human scale. Designed for all ages and abilities, Market welcomes walking, biking and rolling as joyful, everyday experiences.

Movement, gathering and reflection coexist under the trees’ canopy. Native plants root the corridor in local identity, support biodiversity and carry cultural memory forward. The planting palette restores texture, scent and seasonality to the civic realm, grounding people in place and time. The street’s layered histories are reactivated, honouring memories embedded in the urban fabric while inviting new stories to unfold. Modular infrastructure, flexible seating and adaptive surfaces support a spectrum of public life — from everyday play to performance and protest.

Four zones unfold like chambers of a living heart: the relaxed pace of the waterfront, the inventive pulse of innovation, the expressive beat of the arts and the grounded rhythm of civic life. Together they foster connection through a rich mix of activities and vibes.

Anchored by bold interventions like Hallidie Plaza, Market Street is activated at every scale — from generous plazas that host gathering and performance to quiet pockets that invite rest and reflection. Hallidie Plaza becomes a civic grove, a layered space where underground transit and elevated gardens meet. Lightwells, water features and plantings bring surprise and delight into what was once an uninviting space.

Market Street pumps life into the city’s core. It becomes a major artery connecting four walkable districts, each playing a vital role in circulating energy, access and opportunity. It becomes more than infrastructure. It’s where movement sparks memory. It’s where the city finds space to breathe. This is a blueprint for sound urban development: not just resilient by design, but grounded in the rhythms of everyday life.

“The solution for Market Street’s revival must be broad and connect people far beyond the street. Coupling nature, transit and people will enable downtown and its neighborhoods to thrive well into the future.”
— Ben Feldmann, Principal, Studio-MLA

This is the new Market Street: the living heart of the city.

We are honored to collaborate with our team and excited to connect and support the city in this exceptional moment as Market Street continues to evolve. We are building momentum alongside Mayor Daniel Lurie, Natalie Sandoval of ULI San Francisco, Luke Spray of the Civic Joy Fund, Manny Yekutiel, Alicia Jean Batiste, John King (former SF Chronicle urban design critic), Alma du Soleil, and other distinguished jurors.