San Francisco, CA — Today, Mayor London N. Breed and a diverse group of civic, business and community leaders launched Shine On SF, a new recovery initiative designed to reignite civic pride and improve the conditions of San Francisco’s streets and public spaces. Shine On SF will build on the care San Franciscans from all walks of life have for their neighborhoods, inspiring a renewed culture of pride across the City and motivating and empowering the next generation of caretakers. Shine On SF aims to support immediate and long-term cleaning improvements and systems changes while also bringing together residents to care for city streets and public spaces, producing a visible change over the next three years.  

Shine On SF is championed by the Shine On SF Partnership, a new coalition of public and private partners representing more than 40 small and large businesses, neighborhood groups, the tourism sector, community benefits districts, nonprofit workforce development organizations, and arts institutions, together with the City and County of San Francisco. For more information, visit shineonsf.org.

“San Franciscans care deeply about our City—for its unique beauty, culture, diversity and its neighborhoods,” said Mayor Breed. “During this pandemic, we showed what we can do when we come together to protect and care for one another, and we need to carry that spirit forward to care for our City. Clean sidewalks and beautiful public spaces are essential to public health, community, and economic viability. They are a matter of equity that every resident and visitor should enjoy. We are launching Shine On SF to do more to keep San Francisco clean, celebrate all those who take care of our City every day, and inspire everyone to do their part to make this City shine.”

The initiative is composed of two main components: creating civic engagement opportunities for San Franciscans to volunteer and directly contribute to creating a cleaner and more cared-for city; and expanding and improving the City’s cleaning and beautification programs through immediate investments and long-term systemic changes. Funding and staff time are being provided by both private and public partners.

Civic Engagement: Rallying a City of Caretakers

Shine On SF calls on people to get involved. The Shine On SF website connects people and groups with opportunities to volunteer in neighborhood clean ups, gardening projects, and public space activation and beautification projects throughout the City. Shine On SF will match volunteers with real needs generated by community-based groups and City agencies. Educational efforts will encourage businesses, property owners, and the general public to use 311 and care for their own spaces. People can sign up for these volunteer opportunities at
shineonsf.org/get-involved.

Shine On SF’s first public space activation project, Golden Trees, is designed to remind people what they love about San Francisco. Each weekend from June 26 through August 15, trees in colorful planters will be displayed at pop-up activations in 16 public spaces throughout the City, including community-owned spaces and Recreation and Park locations. People will be invited to decorate the trees with golden cards featuring their personal responses to the prompt, “What makes San Francisco shine?” Intended to reconnect neighbors with each other and showcase the unique outdoor spaces that provided hope and positivity for many throughout the pandemic, the project will culminate in a citywide participatory art installation during the holidays. 

“Clean and cared for streets and public spaces are key to public confidence, and to our civic and economic recovery,” said Joe D’Alessandro, President & CEO of SF Travel. “We want San Francisco to tell a story to our visitors and residents alike about our unified commitment and enthusiasm to making our city the best it can be.”

Improved City Cleaning: Making San Francisco Shine

Shine On SF is also about making immediate investments and long-term systemic changes to clean up and beautify San Francisco. Through this upcoming budget, Mayor Breed is committing $96.2 million to support these efforts that cover San Francisco. Additional new cleaning efforts funded in the City’s budget include:

• Expanding the City’s CleanCorridorsSF program: Launched during the COVID pandemic, CleanCorridorsSF deploys a large contingent of San Francisco Public Works street cleaners to a different neighborhood commercial district one day each week to power wash and sweep the sidewalks, flush down the roadway and wipe out graffiti—a coordinated deep-cleaning blitz resulting in noticeable improvements to the cleanliness of the targeted area. New funding will make this pilot program permanent and double the existing service.
• Expanding the Community Youth Center (CYC) Power Wash Mobile Team: a new program that employs immigrants with barriers to employment in steam cleaning commercial corridors, the CYC Power Wash Mobile Team will provide new monthly cleaning in additional commercial corridors throughout the Bayview, Visitacion Valley, the Richmond, the Sunset, the Excelsior, the Mission and the Fillmore, as well as continued cleaning in Chinatown where the program began as a pilot. Power washing will begin in August 2021.

Additionally, the Shine On SF Partnership is pursuing two cleaning infrastructure and services systems changes, including:

• Making the 311 system more efficient and responsive to residents. New funding in the budget will help city agency workers and community benefit district cleaners respond more efficiently to 311 requests and close out requests with images so users can see they’ve been completed.
• Undergoing a comprehensive city trash can replacement effort. Shine On SF will engage cross-sector partners to enhance Public Works’ Trash Receptacle Replacement program, which will be implemented over the next three years. City trash cans will be replaced with new cans that prevent overflow from wind and tampering. Shine On SF will support the design process while also engaging experts to advise on receptacle placement and frequency of trash removal service of public cans to better improve cleanliness across the entire city.

The above city funding is separate from the funding for community benefit districts, which leverage funds collected by a special assessment from neighborhood property owners to provide services including street cleaning, trash collection, and neighborhood ambassadors and guides.

“We are already seeing real world results from this partnership between the City and the community,” said Simon Bertrang, Executive Director of the Tenderloin Community Benefit District. “Shine On connects all of the Community Benefit Districts and the neighborhoods we serve with non-profits, private citizens and the City to harness the power of collective action.” 

“We as San Franciscans are not powerless to help affect change and make a difference,” said Vince Yuen, Founder of Refuse Refuse, “It’s about each person being committed and taking a small action which collectively has a big impact. I’m proud to be part of the Shine On SF movement that brings San Franciscans together and empowers them to get involved and keep our city beautiful.” 

Below is a full list of partners for the Shine On SF Partnership. For more information, visit shineonsf.org.

• 311
• African American Art & Culture Complex
• American Conservatory Theatre
• Art for Civil Discourse, Paint the Void
• AT&T
• Bedford Grove
• Block by Block
• BOMA SF
• BUILDING 180, Paint the Void
• Clorox
• Coffee and Cream Press
• Committee On Jobs
• Community Benefit District Consortium
• Downtown Community Benefit District
• Dropbox
• East Cut Community Benefit District
• En2Action
• Facebook
• Fisherman's Wharf CBD
• Golden Gate Restaurant Association
• Hospital Council Northern & Central California
• Hotel Council of San Francisco
• Illuminate
• Make it Mariko
• Mekanism
• NextDoor
• Office of Economic and Workforce Development
• Office of Assessor-Recorder
• Office of the City Administrator
• Recology
• Refuse Refuse SF
• San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
• San Francisco Council of District Merchants Associations
• San Francisco Department of Environment
• San Francisco Public Works
• San Francisco Parks Alliance
• San Francisco Planning Department
• San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department
• SF Travel
• SF.Citi
• SFEtsy
• SOMA West CBD
• SPUR
• Stamen Design
• SWA Group
• Tenderloin Community Benefit District
• TogetherSF
• Urban Alchemy
• Webcor
• YBCA
• Youth Speaks