To the average citizen, government processes can seem rigid and impenetrable. In her work across finance, municipal government, and the arts world, Sara Fenske Bahat has <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/SFNext-homelessness-public-safety-17518771.php">picked up some ideas</a> about incorporating creativity into policy. Her experience as a New York City municipal staffer bridged the Bloomberg and Giuliani administrations, giving her insight into radically different approaches to local governance. Now, she’s interim CEO of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Fenske Bahat says leaders should be willing to experiment and listen to constituents about their needs. | <a href="https://sfchronicle.com/pod">Unlimited Chronicle access</a>: sfchronicle.com/podFixing Our City is part of the San Francisco Chronicle’s <a href="https://sfchronicle.com/sfnext">SFNext</a> ProjectGot a tip, question, comment? Email us at <a href="mailto:sfnext@sfchronicle.com">sfnext@sfchronicle.com</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

Best of FOC: Why a Hole in the Ground Is “The Death in the Mission”

Like any big city, San Francisco has big problems. Rampant homelessness, an opioid epidemic, widening income equality and deep political divisions. What’s stopping the city from fixing itself? Where are the creative solutions? And what happens when one person’s solution is another’s root of the problem? Host Laura Wenus and producer Cintia Lopez are on a quest to find out, one San Francisco story at a time.
SFNext: Fixing Our City is part of the San Francisco Chronicle's SFNext project.
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