Alison Sant

Alison Sant is a partner and co-founder of the Studio for Urban Projects, an interdisciplinary design collaborative based in San Francisco that works at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, art, and social activism. For more than 15 years, the Studio has focused on public programming, urban prototyping, and civic dialog – aiming to bring social justice and sustainability to the design of cities. Sant is the author of From the Ground Up: Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities a book that examines how American cities are mitigating and adapting to climate change while creating greater equity and livability. She has taught at the College of Environmental Design, University of California Berkeley, the California College of the Arts, Mills College, and the San Francisco Art Institute.

Creating Transportation Equity from the Ground Up

Transportation accounts for the largest share of emissions in the United States. But many U.S. cities benefit by having dense urban footprints. By expanding low- and zero-carbon mobility options, cities can help to build more equitable transportation systems and increase economic mobility.

An Inside Look: Nature-Based Efforts to Create Resilient Cities

Cities are experimenting with ways of reintroducing nature to be resilient to the rising tides, floods, and extreme weather events caused by climate change—from restoring wetlands to constructing oyster reefs, and expanding the floodplains of creeks, streams, and rivers.

Creating Streets for People in the Tenderloin

From parklets and quick-build projects to its recent Slow Streets initiative, San Francisco has been a leader in experimenting with remaking its streetscapes. However, these programs and their benefits are often unequally distributed. One such example is the Tenderloin, which had fewer public street amenities than most other neighborhoods before the pandemic and was one of the last to see these types of projects unfold since.