San Francisco’s Schools Adopt a Good Food Framework
By Eli Zigas, Food and Agriculture Policy DirectorMany food service institutions in the Bay Area can point to items on their menu to show that they offer healthy, sustainable and fairly made food. But it’s often unclear how deep that commitment goes across the menu as a whole. San Francisco Unified School District, with its $11 million annual school food budget, just pledged to make that commitment clearer and stronger.
What Is Your Radical Idea for San Jose?
If money were no object, what "moonshot" idea do you believe would make the biggest positive impact on San Jose? SPUR is entering its fifth year in San Jose, and we’ve accomplished a lot. As we look toward our next five years, we’re looking for new thinking that could transform the future of the city. We’d love to hear about your vision for San Jose.
What Do Three Mega Projects Tell Us About Silicon Valley’s Future?
By Laura Tolkoff, San Jose Policy DirectorSanta Clara's City Place development, San Jose’s Diridon Station Area Plan and Mountain View’s North Bayshore Precise Plan seek to reshape growth in Silicon Valley. What do they tell us about the future of Silicon Valley and what do they mean for the region? Can we expect something different than auto-oriented suburbs? Are we “thinking different” — or repeating the mistakes of the past?
What Is Oakland Doing About Its Housing Crisis?
By Sarah Karlinsky, Senior Policy AdvisorAs housing prices continue to climb in Oakland and stories of displacement circulate, many are asking when the city is going to do something about the housing affordability crisis. Progress may look slow on the ground, but in fact the city has been making rapid progress on a number of fronts.
Go Big and Go Home: Why the Housing Bonus Program Is Good for SF
By Kristy Wang, Community Planning Policy DirectorOn June 13, Mayor Lee and Supervisor Tang’s Affordable Housing Bonus Program heads to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee. The program has come under fire from both housing advocates and neighborhood opponents. Recently, Supervisors Mar and Peskin announced a competing proposal. But we still think the original plan is the way to go. Here’s why.
Three Ways Downtown San Jose Just Got a Lot More Urban
By Laura Tolkoff, San Jose Policy DirectorIn the past few weeks, San Jose has taken three big steps toward creating a more urban and active downtown. These milestones took place with little fanfare, but we think they’re worth celebrating.
Governor Brown’s Solution to the Affordability Crisis: Allow New Housing “By Right”
By Kristy Wang, Community Planning Policy DirectorIn May, Governor Jerry Brown proposed streamlining the approvals process for multi-family housing developments that are built in urbanized areas and include affordable housing. If the proposal passes, eligible housing projects would be approved “by right,” and not subject to local approval or review under CEQA. The governor's proposal is not a panacea, but it is a practical, modest step in the right direction .
Saint Clare Coffee Comes to the SPUR Urban Center
By Allison Arieff, Editorial DirectorSPUR’s forums bring hundreds of people to our building each week, and we've seen how lively the interactions before and after those events can be. Now there’s a place to continue the conversation: We've opened a new café, Saint Clare Coffee, in the ground floor of the SPUR Urban Center. SPUR's Allison Arieff spoke with Saint Clare’s founder, Kevin Bohlin , about his newest venture.
Regional Agencies Take a Step Closer to Merging
By Egon Terplan, Regional Planning DirectorLast week, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments took a major step toward more comprehensive regional planning. A joint committee of the two agencies endorsed a full organizational merger . After reviewing seven proposed merger options, the committee voted to support one that would make all ABAG and MTC staff part of the same organizational and management structure.
High-Speed Rail Gets Real for the Bay Area
By Danielle Glaser, San Jose Intern, and Laura Tolkoff, San Jose Policy DirectorThis year, the California High-Speed Rail Authority announced that the first segment of high-speed rail will connect the Central Valley to San Jose, instead of Los Angeles. The Bay Area will become the proving ground for how high-speed rail can transform California’s cities. What do we need to do to get it right?