A big city in a small package, San Francisco's status as a cosmopolitan cultural center has been further boosted by a slew of museum collections reopening in brand new, purpose-built landmark buildings. The Contemporary Jewish Museum, the Mexican Museum & the California Academy of Sciences are all scheduled to open their doors in new premises in 2008. The city that begat the beat generation, hippies & radical politics, & was the inspiration for writers from Armistead Maupin to Amy Tan, continues to burst with creativity & a cutting-edge political consciousness. Way ahead in the green stakes, San Francisco plans to be the first US city to ban plastic bags; meanwhile, the city's gay community, always keen to rebel against the mainstream, is in revolt against its own stereotypes with a burgeoning 'alternaqueer' scene. & with growth in San Francisco itself restricted by the boundary of the bay, forces of regeneration & renewal are making themselves felt in once-gritty Oakland & other areas of the East Bay.