Histories of UN Plaza, the Tenderloin’s Front Porch

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Survey the design and activist history of United Nations Plaza, the high-concept public space at the foot of the TL, with presentations by Dr. Linda Day (emeritus professor of city planning), LisaRuth Elliott (co-director, Shaping San Francisco) and Emily Smith Beitiks (Interim Director, SFSU’s Longmore Institute).

UN Plaza literally and figuratively represents how a well-intentioned built environment can function as a strange attractor for human activity that defies its social engineering. Although conceived as an act of urban revitalization, the plaza has had a manifest presence of homelessness and drug use/dealing since its opening, eliciting cycles of vocal critique and conflicted efforts to rehabilitate this public space; most recently, as drug activity reached a grim new fever pitch in the post-pandemic moment, UN Plaza got reconfigured as a skateboarding and recreation area.

Yet, UN Plaza endures as the site of many significant happenings that testify to the resilience of the people and the importance of having their voices heard in the proverbial town square. It was home to the 1977 occupation of the Federal Building by disability rights advocates and a decade-long AIDS/ARC Vigil amongst other popular demonstrations. Until recently, the plaza had been home to the Heart of the City Farmer’s Market going back to 1981, a more everyday example of the potential of this public space. Join us as we consider the design of UN Plaza’s built environment, explore its activist history, witness its specific legacy, and reflect on what it teaches us about life in the city!

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