San Francisco’s Market Street is getting a radical makeover, thanks to an innovative design competition that’s challenging the city’s urban landscape. Mayor Daniel Lurie challenged designers to rethink the two-mile stretch from the Embarcadero to the Castro, sparking imagination and creativity from around the world.

The Urban Land Institute’s contest drew nearly 170 submissions from nine countries, with a star-studded jury including former Apple designer Jony Ive and celebrity architect Norman Foster. Instead of traditional urban planning approaches, contestants proposed audacious concepts that range from transforming the street into a massive forest to creating the world’s longest continuous bench.

One standout proposal, “The Market Street Forest,” envisions a natural transformation where greenery takes over underutilized spaces. Another concept, “Asymmetry in Balance,” suggests splitting the street into distinct zones based on sunlight exposure - with one side becoming a green urban promenade and the other optimized for transit and nightlife.

The most playful submission might be the four-mile bench designed to seat up to 10,000 people, challenging the city’s current trend of removing public seating. Meanwhile, the “Flying Colors” proposal suggests illuminating the entire street with LED mesh banners that could project art, light, and civic messaging.

A particularly innovative plan called “Beating Heart” divides Market Street into four ecological zones focusing on innovation, leisure, arts, and civic culture. Each zone would be subtly transformed with native plants to encourage community interaction.

The competition’s organizers are clear: these proposals aren’t guaranteed implementation but are meant to spark conversation about urban revitalization. As Natalie Sandoval from ULI noted, the goal is to add tools to the city’s urban planning toolkit.

With honorable mentions including wild ideas like a gondola system and a rainbow pedestrian bridge, it’s clear that San Francisco’s design community is ready to dream big and reimagine urban spaces in bold, unexpected ways.