Danielle chan
Landscape Architect
Danielle Chan is a landscape architect with Public Works’ Bureau of Landscape Architecture. The bureau has some two dozen employees and is under Public Works’ Project Design and Development Division.
Designing beautiful, durable, resilient public open spaces for our diverse San Francisco communities is a top priority for Public Works. The Bureau of Landscape Architecture’s work includes parks, playgrounds, streetscapes, master plans, plazas, community gardens, green infrastructure and trails.
Among the projects in the bureau’s portfolio are the rain gardens and play spaces at the new Southeast Community Center, landscaping and other treatments to preserve the history and beauty of the Palace of Fine Arts, and a renovated courtyard ringed by a grove of Japanese maple trees at the Merced Branch Library. The bureau provides design services for partner City departments through the construction phase.
Listen to Danielle talk about how
she discovered landscape architecture and her role here at Public Works.
"This is one of the few Japantowns left in the country and I think it’s going to be around for a long time. Seeing it go into construction, that’s a pinch-me moment for me."
In Chan’s world, small improvements can make a big difference. A peony pattern – inspired by her grandparents’ bathroom wallpaper – brings a sense of lightness to an otherwise drab alleyway. Trees provide shade and clean air. Bio-retention planters help slow down stormwater runoff.
For the past few years, Chan has been working on the Japantown Peace Plaza Renovation Project, an overhaul of the open space in the cultural heart of the neighborhood.
Among other improvements, the work at the plaza, located at 1610 Geary Blvd., includes much needed waterproofing, new porcelain paving, terraced seating, lighting, cultural placemaking signage, landscape planters, irrigation, decorative walls and a permanent stage for festivals and performances. The 30,000 square foot plaza – built over a parking garage – is a major cultural landmark and onsite structures, such as the Peace Pagoda monument, are historic. Construction on the renovations began in spring 2024.
“This is one of the few Japantowns left in the country and I think it’s going to be around for a long time,” said Chan, who started at Public Works as an intern. “Seeing it go into construction, that’s a pinch-me moment for me.”
"I joined Public Works wanting to make a positive impact and physical change in the community."
Not only do our public spaces, landscaped areas and outdoor infrastructure shape the way we experience our surroundings and offer a canvas to celebrate the past and welcome the future, they also can provide a lasting framework to tackle some of our greatest challenges.
A changing climate and warming planet necessitate an all-hands-on-deck approach where each thoughtful measure and intervention – from trees that help clean the air to streetscape designs that mitigate flooding – can be the puzzle pieces that complete the bigger picture.
“I think this generation, facing climate change, there is so much opportunity to make positive impact in the landscape,” Chan said. “That’s the current challenge right now and so I joined Public Works wanting to make a positive impact and physical change in the community.”