Market Street, San Francisco, California

BART/MUNI Canopy Living Roofs

Tigers on Market Street

We spy a soaring western tiger swallowtail at home on Market Street.

London Plane Trees

London plane trees were first planted on Market Street in the 1980s. Because of this, western tiger swallowtails, laying their eggs on this sycamore relative, became the most common species seen downtown.

Nectar

Nectar flowers are largely missing on Market Street. This butterfly was photographed nearby at Sue Bierman Park.

BART Canopies

Designed to cover station escalators, provide public art on the undersides, and support living roofs/image: VIA, a Perkins Eastman Studio.

BART Canopy Living Roofs

Living roofs on BART canopies will provide habitat for butterflies and other downtown wildlife/rendering: VIA, a Perkins Eastman Studio.

The Vision

With all 23 living roofs, imagine butterflies, birds, and other pollinators moving from habitat to habitat/rendering: VIA, a Perkins Eastman Studio.

Precarious Existence

This swallowtail emerged from the chrysalis onto Market Street’s red brick.

Preliminary Plant List

Nearby Nectar

This butterfly was photographed at nearby Yerba Buena Park.

Living Roofs Capital Campaign - Give!

Amidst the bustle of San Francisco’s Market Street, new BART/MUNI Canopy Living Roof habitats are coming for Western Tiger Swallowtail butterflies and other wildlife! The Canopy Living Roofs project, conceived by Nature in the City, will soon see native plants atop canopy structures over BART and MUNI public transportation entrances along San Francisco’s Market Street.

Western Tiger Swallowtail butterflies (Papilio rutulus) have lived precariously among the bustle of Market Street since the 1980s when the City of SF first planted Market Street with London plane trees. From the butterfly’s perspective, Market Street, with its tall buildings lined with trees and nearby sun-filled plazas and parks, resembles its natural habitat: a river canyon with larval food trees and nectar flowers in nearby meadows.

But there is one big problem: nectar plants are scarce in this “canyon.” Thus, Nature in the City began the Tigers on Market Street project in 2018 to enhance habitat, focusing on adding nectar plants.

In 2021, BART invited Nature in the City to design living roof habitats for the station canopies. Once installed, all 21 roofs will provide 650 square feet of elevated habitat, an elevated wildlife corridor!

Sponsorship Campaign

Individuals, foundations, and corporations can invest in the BART/MUNI Canopy Living Roof native habitat corridor at several sponsorship levels. Contact bette@natureinthecity.org to learn more and download our sponsorship deck.

Revitalizing Downtown San Francisco: A model for other cities

The pilot roofs, installed at Montgomery Station near the Palace Hotel and Powell Station near the Westfield Shopping Center, will be the first of their kind. Once the pilots are alive with habitat and wildlife, living roofs are planned for all 21 station entrance canopies from Embarcadero to Civic Center Stations.

In 2017, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to mandate solar and living roofs on most new construction. The BART/MUNI Canopy Living Roofs project aligns with San Francisco's Climate Action Plan, specifically the Plan’s biodiversity and creative place-making goals. Living Roofs will enhance downtown San Francisco and align with Mayor London Breed’s Roadmap to Downtown San Francisco’s Future. These elevated native habitat islands, rich with insect and bird life, can transform Market Street into a model for other cities looking to create local climate solutions.

Project Design & Endorsements

The September 2022 community design workshop, led by Nature in the City, included experts from Switzerland, Stephan Brenneisen, Lieve Dierckx, and Lisa Lee Benjamin; staff from local community benefit organizations and project leaders from BART, MUNI, VIA – A Perkins Eastman Studio, RANA, BioStudio, and Resonate Agency.

The project receives official endorsements from trusted San Francisco individuals and organizations:

Aaron Peskin, President, San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Downtown San Francisco Partnership
Enterprise for Youth
SPUR
Union Square Alliance
Yerba Buena Community Benefit District

The project’s native plant design is low-maintenance and drought-resistant, providing habitat for western tiger swallowtails and other wildlife. The roofs are designed for ease of maintenance which will be done in partnership with BART, MUNI, the City of San Francisco, and public and private stakeholders along Market Street. They will be beautiful on day one of installation!

Canopy Living Roof Goals