Model Places Illustration

Housing

We believe: Housing is a human right and should be affordable to everyone.

Our Goals

• Increase the supply of housing.

• Provide more affordable housing for low- and middle-income residents.

• Protect low-income communities of color from displacement.

Monte Vista Gardens apartments in San José

SPUR Report

Structured for Success

A key cause of California’s high housing costs is its decentralized and fragmented housing governance system. SPUR makes 11 recommendations to set California and the Bay Area on the path to produce the housing we need.
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Monte Vista Gardens apartments in San José

SPUR Report

Structured for Success

A key cause of California’s high housing costs is its decentralized and fragmented housing governance system. SPUR makes 11 recommendations to set California and the Bay Area on the path to produce the housing we need.
Read More
photo of balconies on an apartment building

Research

Losing Ground

SPUR examines 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.
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photo of balconies on an apartment building

Research

Losing Ground

SPUR examines 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.
Read More
Apartment Building

Research

Housing the Middle

SPUR digs into the housing market’s failure to meet the needs of middle-income households. California can look to innovative programs across the country as models for how to address the state’s housing challenges.
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Apartment Building

Research

Housing the Middle

SPUR digs into the housing market’s failure to meet the needs of middle-income households. California can look to innovative programs across the country as models for how to address the state’s housing challenges.
Read More
Apartment Construction

Research

Planning by Ballot

SPUR has created the most up-to-date database of local land use ballot measures that impact housing production in California. Over the long term, measures that restrict infill housing can undermine housing affordability and have the potential to exacerbate racial segregation.
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Apartment Construction

Research

Planning by Ballot

SPUR has created the most up-to-date database of local land use ballot measures that impact housing production in California. Over the long term, measures that restrict infill housing can undermine housing affordability and have the potential to exacerbate racial segregation.
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Updates and Events

photo of workshop attendees listening to a presentation

How San Francisco’s Family Zoning Plan Got Passed

News /
In December, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted the city’s most ambitious zoning reform in decades. The Family Zoning Plan allows dense multifamily housing to be built in most neighborhoods in order to help address the city’s housing crisis. SPUR led advocacy efforts to ensure the plan met state mandates and addressed housing inequality, as well as facilitating public engagement throughout the process. Here’s what went into getting the plan passed — and what it will do for the city.

SPUR supports San Jose's "Housing Day" Legislation

Advocacy Letter /
SPUR supports San Jose's proposed housing incentive programs, including the expansion of Downtown Residential Incentive Program, the Multifamily Housing Incentive Program extension, and updates to the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. We believe that these actions will unlock stalled housing developments, support housing production in Downtown San José, and deliver naturally occurring affordability for middle-income households without deep subsidies, relieving displacement pressures elsewhere in the city.
Relationships to Build Housing - Lead Image

Building Relationships to Build Housing

Urbanist Article /
After decades of failure to build enough homes pushed prices to a crisis point, California policymakers and their constituents began to reconsider their resistance to new housing construction. Years of education and advocacy by SPUR and other housing supporters is now starting to turn the tide in favor of new housing.
Photo of multifamily housing under construction in San José

Governor Newsom Signs Four SPUR-Sponsored Housing Bills Into Law

News /
This month, Governor Newsom signed into law 45 housing-related bills, including four sponsored by SPUR. We played a critical role in developing these bills, which aim to facilitate low- and middle-income multifamily housing near transit. The bills address zoning, mixed-income housing on commercial properties, transparency in housing production, and traffic impact fees, significantly advancing the state’s housing goals.
Photo of Lotus at Urban Oak, a condominium development in San José

Condos Provide Affordable Homeownership, So Why Doesn’t California Build More of Them?

News /
Multifamily condos made up only 3 percent of new housing built in California between 2011 and 2021, compared to 38 percent in Canada. Why? A new report commissioned by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley and SPUR identifies a direct consequence of our state’s construction defect liability laws: the high cost of insurance for condo builders pushes developers to build rental apartments instead of for-sale projects that could create more affordable homeownership opportunities.
city skyline

2025 Fellows and Interns Fuel SPUR’s Research

News /
This summer, SPUR hosted a talented group of policy researchers through partnerships with fellowship and practicum programs at high schools, colleges, and graduate programs. Learn more about the work they did with SPUR and where they headed after collaborating with us.
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