The General Plan is the embodiment of San Francisco’s vision for the future, serving to guide the City’s evolution and growth over time. It provides a comprehensive set of objectives and policies that influence how we live, work, and move about, as well as the quality and character of the City. The General Plan reflects community values and priorities through its public adoption process, ensuring both private development and public action advance this vision. The Planning Department is currently undertaking several General Plan updates to respond to the many complex and pressing challenges facing San Francisco, including:

• Where and how much housing will get built? Who will it serve?
• How will we move about the city safely and reliably?
• How can we prepare for and mitigate the impacts of coming climate-related and other disasters?
• How can we promote health in communities of color and low-income communities that face higher pollution and other health risks?
• How do we cultivate inclusive communities where all members have the resources they need to thrive?

Architects’ perspectives and insights are invaluable in shaping innovative policies in service of improving peoples’ lived experience. Through the General Plan, such Policies influence legislation, code and future built environment opportunity throughout the city. Join us to learn how to engage and share your thoughts for addressing San Francisco’s current and future challenges!

About the Panelists

Allison Albericci, AIA
Design Review Coordinator, City Design Co-Lead, Citywide Planning Division | Planning Department

Allison’s expertise as an interdisciplinary practitioner is driven by the challenge of reinventing the world’s cities to be smarter, more livable and more vibrant. As Senior Architect and Urban Designer for the San Francisco Planning Department, Allison draws on global insight, creative problem-solving, and collaborative thinking to address the challenges of the Bay Area. Allison’s recent projects include the India Basin Design Standards and Guidelines and the Hunters Point Shipyard D4D, among others. She regularly shares insight on Urban and Architectural issues and has presented at national and regional conferences, universities, think tanks, professional organizations, and prominent firms. Allison was recognized by the AIA in 2018 with a Young Architect Award, received for significant contributions to the profession early in her career. Prior to joining the Planning Department, Allison was an Associate in the San Francisco office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Allison earned Masters Degrees in Architecture Studies and in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Allison also holds a Master of Architecture from Tulane University and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Urban Design from Oxford Brookes University. Allison is a registered Architect, a certified Planner, and a LEED Accredited Professional.

Lisa Fisher
Resilience & Sustainability Lead, Citywide Planning Division | Planning Department

Lisa helps elevate and drive sustainability, climate resilience, and equity across a broad set of policies, plans, and projects. She convenes collaborative multi-disciplinary, interagency teams to enhance environmental performance and amplify community benefits, including the recently completed Islais Creek Adaptation Strategy. At the city scale, Lisa is a core contributor to the SF Hazards and Climate Resilience Plan, Climate Action Plan, and Biodiversity Resolution. At the community scale, she leads the development of a Sustainable Neighborhood Framework, conceived during the Central SoMa Eco-District Plan and piloted in Potrero Power Station and other major developments. Previously, Lisa was an Associate Principal with AECOM Design & Planning for 10 years and managed complex urban regeneration projects in Latin and North America. She holds an MS in Urban Planning from Columbia University, where she focused on international development and resilience. Lisa is an avid outdoor adventurer, bicycle advocate, and public-school volunteer.

Kimia Haddadan
Senior Housing Policy Planner, Community Equity Division, Community Equity Division | Planning Department

Kimia leads the update to San Francisco’s first housing plan centered in racial and social equity. She is part of the Department’s recently created Community Equity Division who is charged with incorporating equity into many dimensions of the Department’s work. Collaborating with community partners, and interagency partners, she is spearheading policy shifts that aim to recognize right to housing, repair the harms done through discriminatory programs, and equitably distribute growth throughout San Francisco. She has shaped and contributed to the priorities and Department’s housing policy work program in the past decade. Her work includes: leading the design and establishment of the Accessory Dwelling Unit program, Legalization Program for Unauthorized Units, tenant protection legislation, Public Sites for Housing, development feasibility analysis, capital planning for housing and infrastructure, and community planning strategies.

Adam Varat
Deputy Director, Citywide Planning Division | Planning Department

Adam Varat is Deputy Director of the San Francisco Planning Department’s Citywide Planning Division, a 30-person team of planners focusing on long-range and comprehensive planning initiatives. Adam has over fifteen years of experience in long-range planning, policy, and urban design. As part of this role, Adam oversees the Division’s urban design, resilience and sustainability, and plan implementation functions. Among other projects, Adam managed the award-winning Better Streets Plan and the San Francisco Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Consequences Assessment.

Prior to joining the San Francisco Planning Department, Adam worked as an urban planner and designer with Calthorpe Associates in Berkeley, California and participated in the EDAW (now AECOM) Summer intern program in San Francisco, California. Adam holds a Masters Degree in City Planning and Certificate in Urban Design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley.