‘Public Perception of San Francisco’s Parklets’

Exerpt from the introduction — For the businesses, restaurants, and organizations sponsoring these sites from across the sidewalk, it is usually anticipated that a new parklet will increase their customer or user base. Yet, when a public space is not controlled by a public entity, an important question arises: does the public actually understand the function of this type of space? Or, put another way, do people perceive parklets to be public spaces or sites for patrons?

In the course of this four-month research project, we used a variety of research methods to answer this key research question at three parklets along Polk Street in San Francisco, and three parklets along Divisadero Street. In addition, we further examined how, depending on socioeconomic neighborhood composition, the answer to this question may potentially differ.