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November 16, 2011Big Plans to Fix Big Problems at Ocean Beach by Ben Grant, Public Realm and Urban Design Program ManagerIn late October, SPUR shared with the public a set of draft recommendations for the Ocean Beach Master Plan, a long-range vision for managing coastal erosion, infrastructure, access and ecology on San Francisco’s western coast. Though the beach faces many challenges, it is south of Sloat Boulevard that the issues come to head. This is where the ocean’s erosive scour is worst, and it’s also the home of the Lake Merced Tunnel and other expensive, recently built wastewater...
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November 3, 2011What San Franciscans Need to Know About Ranked-Choice Voting By Corey Cook, University of San FranciscoIn the weeks leading up to the November 8 election, San Franciscans find themselves up to their necks in news articles (from the Chronicle, the Mercury News and even The Economist) about our ranked-choice voting (RCV) system and how the tallying of voters’ first, second, and third preferences might affect the outcome of the mayoral election. In principle, ranked-choice voting is simple: If no candidate receives an outright majority of the first place votes, the candidate with the fewest...
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November 2, 2011How to Secure Transportation Funding? Commit to Growth By Egon Terplan, Regional Planning Director, and Aaron Bialick, SPUR internThe Bay Area is in the midst of a major planning initiative to identify where to grow and how to allocate scarce transportation dollars to support new population and jobs over the next 30 years. The goal of the Bay Area’s Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS), laid out by state legislation, is to grow in a way that reduces per capita greenhouse gas emissions from driving. City agencies have been consulted in the development of the SCS, but recently they got a chance to respond publicly...
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November 1, 20112011 Silver SPUR Awards: How Dale Minami Helped America Live up to Its Dream Dale Minami has served as a Bay Area attorney for four decades, garnering nationwide recognition for his civil rights leadership in the process. A personal injury attorney with Minami Tamaki LLP by practice, Dale has made substantial contributions to the advancement of Asian-American rights. He helped found the Asian Law Caucus and the Asian American Bar Association, both the first of their kind in the United States. He has been involved in significant litigation concerning the civil...
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November 1, 20112011 Silver SPUR Awards: How Rick Laubscher Put SF's History to Work for the Future Rick Laubscher is most well known for his transformative impact on Market Street’s historic streetcars, but his transportation advocacy and commitment to San Francisco’s important historic treasures extends well beyond the Market Street Railway. A fourth-generation San Franciscan, Rick and his family have long been engaged in the vibrant life of Market Street. Among his civic contributions, Rick served as founding board chair of The City Club of San Francisco, on SPUR...
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November 1, 20112011 Silver SPUR Awards: How Art Gensler Built a Firm to Stand the Test of Time Art Gensler is a business visionary who has transformed the industry of architecture and design through his entrepreneurial creativity and leadership. In 1965, he co-founded Gensler, a San Francisco architecture and design firm, now a 3,000-person firm with 30 offices worldwide. A Cornell University graduate, Art is on the Advisory Council of Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning. Art’s civic leadership includes service to the Buck Institute for Aging, the California...
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November 1, 20112011 Silver SPUR Awards: How Natalie Berg Shaped the City and Its Young People Natalie Berg, Ed.D., has influenced San Francisco as an educator, civic leader and land use consultant. In her 30 plus years at City College of San Francisco she has served as a professor, dean and most recently as an elected member and president of the Board of Trustees. Natalie recently retired from 12 years of service at Forest City Development, where she was responsible for obtaining the entitlements for the Westfield San Francisco Centre and now consults on land use issues....
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October 26, 2011To Fix Central Market, Start With a Strategy By Sarah Karlinsky, Deputy DirectorQuestion: What’s the best way to revitalize Central Market?Answer: There isn’t one way, but many — and they all need to be coordinated with one another.While this sounds like an answer that Yoda might offer, we hope that the folks at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OWED) don’t have to rely on the Force alone to help finalize the Central Market Economic Strategy. The objectives of the strategy include creating an arts district, improving public safety,...
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October 25, 2011How to Negotiate a Greener Office By Laura Tam, Sustainable Development Policy DirectorLast week, the Bay Area's Business Council on Climate Change — which SPUR is a part of — released the Green Tenant Toolkit, an online resource for improving the sustainable performance of existing commercial buildings in San Francisco. The toolkit is designed to help commercial tenants, building owners and property managers collaborate to improve the energy efficiency and other sustainability metrics of their buildings. It is divided into three sections:1. Green leases,...
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October 24, 2011San Francisco Gets Serious About Earthquakes By Sarah Karlinsky, Deputy DirectorMany of us in the Bay Area felt a series of sharp tremors on October 20 and 21 — coincidentally the same day that Oakland-based Christian radio broadcaster Harold Camping predicted would bring the Apocalypse. It might not be time for the Rapture just yet, but we do know the Big One is coming, and we want our buildings to be prepared.Fortunately, so do the smart people in San Francisco City Hall. They’ve taken the good work developed as part of the Community Action Plan for Seismic...
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