Reset San Francisco | Phil Ting for Assembly 2012

Money Visualized, An Infographic

By: Bernadette Samson

We love data because we’re total geeks at Reset San Francisco, but XKCD webcomic artist Randall Munroe has out-geeked us with this infographic that shows how powerful data can be. Munroe’s “Money” infographic visually depicts money in various denominations and grouped through its various sources — the wealth of the top 10 billionaires, an average American household’s income, the costs of consumer goods and even the amount (in US dollars) of the “proven” capacity of oil reserves, among others. Read More

Summer of Smart Winner Helps Green Grade San Francisco

We spend 90% of our time in buildings, and yet we still don’t know as much as we should about how the built environment affects our overall environment. At Reset we believe in better living through better information. That’s why we applaud the Summer of Smart winner GOODbuildings.info. Participants at Summer of Smart created apps and websites aimed at harnessing Web 2.0 technology to create Gov 2.0 tools. Read More

SF Ethics Meetings To Be Televised

Starting in January the San Francisco Ethics Commission’s monthly meetings will be televised locally on Channels 26 and 78 and online at sfgovtv.org. The idea came after the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury pushed for the idea following a scathing report calling the Ethics Commission a sleeping watchdog. The Civil Grand Jury report recommended the Ethic meetings be televised to ensure greater transparency in its meetings and deliberations. The Ethics Commission oversees and enforces San Francisco campaign finance laws and local elected officials. Currently, only audio recordings of the meetings are available. Read More

San Francisco Green Businesses Can Win $10k

Good.is and UPS recently announced their Green Side of Business program to help a U.S. business become more sustainable and environmentally friendly. While the competition is open to any business in the United States, we think San Francisco has a decent chance.

San Francisco is a Leader in Green

This year, Siemens awarded San Francisco the distinction of being the greenest city in the United States and Canada. Read More

More Parklets Coming Soon To San Francisco

San Francisco already has 20 parklets in neighborhoods throughout the city, a great start but still not nearly enough for folks to enjoy the sun on the few days when sun and warmth coincide. Parklets are small, public spaces that provide seating in areas previously dedicated to parallel parking spaces. The City’s existing parklets are located mostly in front of cafes, like Cafe Abir near Divisadero Street, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana next to Washington Square Park, and Four Barrel Coffee on Valencia Street. A map of all existing and planned parklets is maintained here. Read More

San Francisco Supermarket Street Sweep This Weekend

This Saturday, December 3 is the 6th annual Supermarket Street Sweep charity event to benefit the San Francisco Food Bank. The event is part scavenger hunt, part race and all about helping fellow San Franciscans in need. To win, riders must be the first to complete the course or carry the heaviest load of food. Last year the event drew 170 riders and collected 6,920 lbs of food, all donated to the San Francisco Food Bank. It’s like a Supermarket Sweep on bikes for charity. Read More

SF Library Building Teen Tech Lab

The main branch of the San Francisco library will soon get a space dedicated to helping teens learn and explore technology. The San Francisco Public Library was among a dozen institutions nationwide selected to receive grant money to create digital learning labs for middle and high school students. The Institute of Museum and Library Services and the MacArthur Foundation is providing $100,000, and an additional $20,000 will come from the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.Read More

Healthy SF — Finalist for Harvard Innovation Award

Healthy San Francisco is one of six finalists, out of 563 applicants, in Harvard University's Innovations in American Government Awards. had 563 applicants from across the country. Each of the finalists will receive $10,000, and the winner, to be announced early next year, will receive $100,000. Harvard intends the award money to help winners initiate similar programs in other cities.

The award money is intended to help the winners repeat their successful programs in other cities. Read More

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Reset San Francisco!

We are looking forward to enjoying turkey/tofurkey with friends and family this year. But while we are enjoying our delicious meals, it is important to remember all we have to be thankful for. Read More

Studies Show Better Bike Parking Improves Business

According to the SFMTA, in 2010 there were 8,713 bikes in San Francisco. Reset has covered the improvements in the works to make the city even more bike friendly — from new bike lanes to buffered bike lanes to bike sharing programs. We already knew that biking saved money and served as a stimulus to the local economy — but now we have even more studies to prove it. Several European studies show that better bike infrastructure, especially bike parking, can actually increase local urban stores’ revenue.