The Green Spot Initiative, by Team Spot, tackles the issue of abandoned urban spaces.

Team Spot examined the issue of abandoned urban spaces — empty lots, brownfields, dead zones — and the adverse affects they have on the communities in which they are located. In a city with property values as high as San Francisco’s, it is shocking how much wasted space can be found. What to do with it all? Who better to ask than those who live there? The Green Spot initiative endeavors to reclaim these abandoned public spaces by first engaging residents in the urban planning process and then facilitating the means by which their aspirations — parks, gardens, dog runs, businesses — can actually be implemented through an ongoing process of community engagement, development and sponsorship.

This project is a response to GOOD Magazine’s design challenge to Academy of Art University students as part of its ongoing Design for Cities initiative. Each student team utilized the Living Principles framework and scorecard to guide and evaluate their efforts.

Team Energy: Perin Rambhia, Yen-Chun Yeh, Zainab Rupawalla

Course: Graphic Design & Sustainability (MFA)

Instructor: Phil Hamlett, Graduate Director, Academy of Art University School of Graphic Design

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