Activating Downtown San Jose through permanent pedestrianization upgrades
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
{"autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"8000","speed":"1000","arrows":"true","dots":"false","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
{"autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"8000","speed":"1000","arrows":"true","dots":"false","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}

DETAILS

LocationSan Jose, California, United States
ClientGroup 4 Architecture, Research + Planning, Inc.
SERVICE: ,
Size750 foot-long block

SWA created a vision for transforming North San Pedro Street in the heart of Downtown San Jose into a vibrant pedestrian outdoor dining and socializing space, formalizing and enhancing what local restaurants and city leaders had begun during COVID-19. The design replaces the existing curbs and roadbed with plaza paving to create a continuous space for people without level changes. A central promenade that doubles as emergency and service access is flanked by street trees and generous outdoor dining and social spaces along business storefronts. A slightly wider midblock area creates an event zone for markets and festivals. By eliminating vehicles from the block, the design transforms the existing iconic Arch at Santa Clara Street into a pedestrian gateway, and adds a new “Market Entrance” at St John Street. Based on SWA’s vision, the City Council voted to permanently pedestrianize the street and pursue funds for the enhancements.

Related Projects

Resonant Memory: One October Memorial

Inspired by the shared love of country music that brought people from all over the world together for the Route 91 Music Festival, Resonant Memory is based on the shape of an acoustic guitar. The design makes particular use of the instrument’s sound hole as a recurring motif to represent absence, honoring the lives lost on October 1, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada...

Dubai Expo 2020

From October 2021 to April 2022, the City of Dubai hosted the World Expo: a large-scale International Registered Exhibition that brings nations together with universal themes and immersive experiences. It comprises an entirely new city, built on a 1,083-acre site between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The Expo site is organized around a central plaza linked to three mai...

Golden Gate National Recreation Area

In the early 1970s, the National Park Service began the enormous task of creating a new national recreation area in the midst of an urban center—the San Francisco Bay Area, home to 4.5 million people at the time. Riding the wake of the environmental revolution of the late 1960s, the Park Service would need to find consensus among a wide range of constituents, ...

Uptown ATX Master Plan

Previously a single-use, auto-centric office complex, Uptown ATX is a 66-acre transformation resulting in a transit-oriented, mixed-use neighborhood that further bolsters the burgeoning technology hub of Northwest Austin. Situated between the Charles Schwab campus and The Domain, the Uptown ATX master plan features 3.2 million square feet of workspace, 2.9 mil...

Lynwood Mega-Playground

Inspired by the city’s rich history of aerospace research and manufacturing, Lynwood Mega-Playground brings a dynamic space exploration-themed playground to the heart of the Central Los Angeles city.

Completed in Fall 2024, the playground transforms the Northwest corner of Lynwood Park into a colorful spectacle with super-sized play features including a...

Katy Trail

Katy Trail represents a remarkable resource for the residents of the Dallas Fort Worth region. This project enlivens and makes accessible right-of-way established by the storied, but later abandoned, Missouri-Kansas-Texas (better known as the “Katy”) line, and serves as a unifying element for the surrounding neighborhoods. Katy Trail provides appro...

Brackenridge Park

At the confluence of the San Antonio River lies Brackenridge Park, a once postcard-worthy destination with a rich heritage obscured by years of neglect.

Reimagining cultural landscapes requires balancing historic preservation, ecological health, and visitor experience. Rather than opting for piecemeal rehabilitation as originally proposed by the city, S...

Norton Rose Fulbright Tower

Standing 28 stories tall, Norton Rose Fulbright Tower integrates the nearby park’s essence into its design, blending the natural landscape with the office tower.

The design connects indoor and outdoor spaces by extending interior lobby finishes into the public realm and flowing exterior planting into ground-floor retail areas, strengthening the li...