When it comes to living in Northern California there are many options available regarding the type of community you can live in. San Jose has long been known as the Capital of Silicon Valley, but there is more to San Jose than high tech industry. The Knight Foundation understands the potential of San Jose has to be a vibrant urban village, and how this shift in the development of the city can make for a better community all around. The foundation recently announced a series of grant winners to help make downtown San Jose the next premier urban village.
So just what is an Urban Village? In essence, it is a city developed with medium-density housing as a focus, along with mixed use zoning for residential and business locations. There is also a good public transportation system in place, as well as focused development for pedestrians, known as walkability factors, and a high availability of public spaces. People want to live where they work and play, and an urban village brings all three of these aspects together.
The grants awarded last month by the Knight Foundation will directly aid San Jose in becoming an urban village. Covering accessibility, transportation, housing, community outreach and the arts, there are a lot of new projects on the horizon. Listed below are some of the grant winners and what they will bring to San Jose.
Accessibility and Transportation projects:
- City ID will create a way-finding strategy with better signage and other ideas to help visitors find amenities.
- Content Magazine/Silicon Valley Creates will engage residents in city life and develop a new sustainable business model for San Jose.
- The Silicon Valley Network & Valley Transportation Authority will sponsor a three month online app design challenge to help transform personal mobility in Silicon Valley.
Housing and Work Development Projects:
- Destination Home will hold a study and develop ways to help the homeless find sustainable work and housing.
- Downtown Streets will bring a new mobile coffee cart to St James Park and employ some of the homeless population there.
- Greenbelt Alliance will help create mixed use, walkable areas, with housing options for all income levels being made available.
- Housing Trust Silicon Valley will come up with more affordable and fair housing policies.
Community Outreach Projects:
- CreaTV will expand its “We are San Jose” campaign of video stories shared by residents.
- Moveable Feast will bring San Jose a series of monthly pop up dinners, bringing city leaders and residents together to discuss our future plans and ideas.
- The San Jose Public Library will repurpose underused spaces through a project with Okada Design called “Pop-Up Mobile Makerspaces”
Arts & Entertainment Projects:
- San Joes Parks Foundation will expand its summer communities events, known as “Summer in St. James Park”.
- Silicon Valley Newspaper will run a monthly ad promoting SoFa (South First Area), the premier art district in downtown San Jose.
- Wreck Studios will create the “Exhibition District”, converting 40,000 square feet of downtown vacant wall space into an outdoor public are gallery
When it comes to owning a home, there are so many options and ideas available to you, be it urban village, big city or small town. When you are ready to buy or sell a home, we at Haylen Group are here to help you with all of your real estate needs! If you are unsure what your options are, call Helen Chong at (408) 800-LIST or email at
