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Revitalizing San José’s Downtown: Five Strategies

News /
San José’s downtown has been hit hard by the impacts of hybrid and remote work. Its office occupancy rate is the lowest among the ten largest U.S. metros, and tax revenues in the city’s Downtown Growth Area have decreased in line with the drop in commuters there. City leaders, with the support of other downtown stakeholders, can adopt five strategies to revitalize downtown as a central social district.

The World Is Coming to San Francisco. Will Public Transit Be Ready?

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World political and business leaders are coming to San Francisco later this year for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit. The Bay Area will use the event to highlight its innovation leadership. Ironically, the region’s claims to environmental leadership and the pursuit of equity will be undercut by a public transit system in freefall — unless the state acts quickly to use readily available and more-than-sufficient funding to help transit agencies step back from a fiscal cliff.

Reducing the Toll of Tolls on Low-Income Drivers

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Research shows that low-income families benefit most from the time savings provided by toll roads — but they use these roads less than any other income group. That’s because they are disproportionately burdened by tolls. Toll discount programs like the one just established by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission will reduce the impact of tolls on low-income drivers without undermining tolls’ climate and congestion benefits.

Oakland Can Use Its Work on the Proposed Howard Terminal Ballpark to Realize Inclusive Growth

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The Oakland A’s decision to abandon negotiations for a new stadium at Howard Terminal is a huge disappointment to Oakland and the city’s many A’s fans. Despite this setback, Oakland remains a viable city for sports investment. And Howard Terminal remains a strong candidate for development. The experience with the A’s has laid the groundwork for future projects in Oakland that meet the city’s economic, environmental, and social standards.

What Comes Next for Downtown San Francisco?

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Hybrid work and a scarcity of affordable housing have depopulated San Francisco’s downtown. The consequences have been devastating to San Francisco’s budget, putting essential services and surviving small businesses at risk. How can the city create more economic diversity downtown — and address pre-COVID equity and sustainability challenges? SPUR has identified four key areas on which to focus our downtown revitalization research, engagement, and advocacy.

New Transit-Oriented Communities Policy Encourages Equitable and Sustainable Development

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The Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Transit Oriented Communities Policy, passed in 2022, aims to simultaneously address the climate crisis, the Bay Area’s unaffordability, and racial and economic inequities. SPUR reports on the policy’s main components and answers some critical questions, such as how local jurisdictions are being incentivized to comply with the policy and how residents can follow and become involved in its implementation.

It’s Time for California to Step Up for Public Transit: Here’s How to Help

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California transit agencies are facing a $6 billion fiscal cliff. Millions of Californians rely on public transit for access to jobs and school — and the state’s climate, equity, health, and housing goals depend on it. We’re calling for a multiyear commitment to keep transit alive. Here’s what you can do to help.

Welcome to Our New 2023 SPUR Board Members

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SPUR welcomes seven new members to its board of directors. These new appointees bring extensive knowledge in planning, economic justice, sustainability and resilience, good government, and housing. We look forward to their advisorship as we continue our work to make the Bay Area a place where everyone can thrive.

SPUR Sponsors Seven State Bills to Make Housing More Affordable

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Housing continues to be scarce in the Bay Area and unobtainable for even many middle-income residents. SPUR is advocating for and sponsoring legislation that incentivizes and removes barriers to housing production. In addition, we are supporting a nearly $8 billion budget request for investments in affordable housing and funding for homelessness solutions.

Remembering J. Peter Winkelstein

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J. Peter Winkelstein, longtime SPUR board member, talented architect, mentor, and friend to many, died on March 29 at age 94. His work for SPUR continued past his board tenure, as the chair of the new SPUR Urban Center Building Committee. He exemplified a well-lived life of public contribution, and we will all miss him.

New Findings on Shallow Groundwater Rise Highlight a Climate Risk Not Addressed by Policy

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The Bay Area’s climate change adaptation strategies don’t reflect — and might even worsen — the impacts of coastal groundwater rise, which is expected to accelerate with sea level rise as the climate warms. New findings on groundwater rise point to multiple potential risks: degradation of underground infrastructure, movement of underground contaminants left by industrial activities, and an increase in liquefaction during earthquakes. The region’s coastal areas may need a new adaptation paradigm.

How Updating CEQA Can Keep Sustainable Transportation Projects on Track: Q&A with Laura Tolkoff

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The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is intended to protect people and places from the environmental impacts of new development and infrastructure. But it has not been designed to protect against a rapidly warming climate, and ironically, it has sometimes been used to block projects aimed at doing so. SPUR Transportation Policy Director Laura Tolkoff recently testified before a state committee on possible reforms to the law.

Two State Bills Aim to Shore Up the Food Safety Net

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The convergence of high food prices and the end of CalFresh emergency allotments is hitting low-income Californians hard. SPUR is co-sponsoring two bills to keep struggling households from slipping through the food safety net. Both would make proven pilots into permanent benefits that reduce hunger and improve public health.

A Technological Leap Makes Expanding Healthy Food Incentive Programs Easier

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California has taken a big step forward in scaling up healthy food incentive programs: CalFresh participants can now get bonus dollars from their healthy food purchases electronically credited to their benefits card. That technological leap happened because of legislation SPUR co-sponsored. Now SPUR is working to overcome the remaining challenge to enlarging healthy food incentive programs: insufficient funding.

Paving the Way to Downtown Revitalization: Three Cities San Francisco Can Learn From

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San Francisco’s office vacancy rate, one of the highest in the country, has dampened the city’s liveliness and economic prospects. Other cities are tackling the resilience challenges that office-centric downtowns face by reconsidering office building uses and creating incentives for redevelopment. San Francisco can take a page from their revitalization plans.

Investing in San José's Parks and Open Spaces Creates a Virtuous Cycle

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San José’s parks and open spaces are underfunded and falling into disuse. Realizing their potentially large economic and social dividends will take significant and sustainable funding mechanisms. Now more than ever, the city must study, assess, and develop long-term funding strategies with clear communication, intentionality, and creativity.

Averting a Worsening Hunger Crisis Hinges on Making Temporary Benefits Programs Permanent

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Recipients of CalFresh food assistance are about to take a big hit: emergency allotments authorized during the COVID-19 pandemic are set to expire just as food costs are at historic highs. SPUR is working to make temporary food access programs permanent and has just launched a statewide project institutionalizing supplemental benefits by making them directly reimbursable to recipients’ EBT cards.

How California Can Help Transit Survive — and Thrive

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Public transit is an essential service for millions of Californians, yet as one-time federal COVID-19 relief funds dry up, many transit agencies are facing a fiscal crisis. The state’s largest and most fare-dependent operators could see severe service cuts and a spiraling decline. SPUR is leading a coalition urging the state to provide necessary funding to keep buses and trains running as agencies work to transition to a sustainable business model.

The Bay Area Has Too Little Middle-Income Housing: Q&A With Sarah Karlinsky

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In a new research paper, Losing Ground: What the Bay Area's Housing Crisis Means for Middle-Income Households and Racial Inequality , SPUR’s senior advisor on housing policy, Sarah Karlinsky, reveals how the high cost of housing is shaping the Bay Area in ways that erode quality of life and erase economic and racial diversity. We spoke with Sarah about the research and its implications.

Losing Ground

Research
SPUR’s new research paper, Losing Ground: What the Bay Area’s Housing Crisis Means for Middle-Income Households and Racial Inequality , aims to identify how the Bay Area’s housing market has become shaped by scarcity and wide economic divides not only among income groups but also among races and ethnicities.