Orange skyline of San Francisco during extreme fires of 2020

Sustainability and Resilience

Our goal: Eliminate carbon emissions and create resilient, environmentally just communities.

SPUR’s Five-Year Priorities:

• Eliminate the use of fossil fuel in buildings.

Use nature-based solutions to make communities resilient to sea level rise.

Make sure that all people and ecosystems have the water they need to thrive.

• Improve seismic safety of buildings and advance hazard planning and preparedness.

 

Read our policy agenda

computer rendering of a concrete creek channel that has been converted to public space, with a bike path, trees and people sitting on concrete steps in the creek bed,

SPUR Report

Watershed Moments

Climate scientists predict that California will experience longer, more frequent droughts as the climate warms. How can the Bay Area better manage the limited water it has? SPUR, Greenbelt Alliance and Pacific Institute teamed up to highlight six Northern California leaders who are pioneering more sustainable approaches to water use.
City streets and buildings next to waterfront. Wooden poles stick up from the water.

SPUR Report

Water for a Growing Bay Area

The Bay Area is projected to add 2 million jobs and as many as 6.8 million people in the next 50 years. But can we add more jobs and build more housing without using more water? New research from SPUR and the Pacific Institute says yes.

SPUR Report

Safety First: Improving Hazard Resilience in the Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area is both a treasured place and a hazardous environment where flooding, wildfires and earthquakes are common today. As a region exposed to multiple hazards, how can we manage for all of them at the same time?

Ongoing Initiative

The Resilient City

We know that another major earthquake will strike San Francisco — we just don’t know when. Since 2008, SPUR has led a comprehensive effort to retrofit the buildings and infrastructure that sustain city life. Our Resilient City Initiative recommends steps the city should take before, during and after the next big quake.

Black and white photo of a sink faucet running water

Article

Lessons Learned From California’s COVID-19 Water Debt Relief Program

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Legislature established the California Water and Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program to provide financial relief for unpaid water bills. But water affordability struggles won’t end with the pandemic. The state will need to build upon its first experiment with water bill assistance to weather ongoing climate change and income inequality. SPUR investigates the success of the $985 million program and looks at lessons learned.

Ongoing Initiative

Ocean Beach Master Plan

Ocean Beach, one of San Francisco’s most treasured landscapes, faces significant challenges. Since 2010, SPUR has led an extensive interagency and public process to develop the Ocean Beach Master Plan, a comprehensive vision to address sea level rise, protect infrastructure, restore coastal ecosystems and improve public access.

Updates and Events


Kincade Fire: It Will Take a Region to Combat Our Shared Threats

News /
The Kincade Fire has forced the largest-ever evacuation of Sonoma County and threatens areas that are still recovering from the devastating fires of 2017. As the climate changes, the threats to California communities are becoming more frequent and more severe. And if we don’t plan regionally, the resilience investments we do make may not have the expected payoff.

$30 Million in Soda Tax Revenue: What Will It Fund in San Francisco and Oakland?

News /
San Francisco and Oakland will spend a combined $29.5 million in soda taxes this year. Now that elected officials have passed budgets in both cities, we can answer two questions: How do both cities plan to spend the revenue? And have San Francisco and Oakland followed the recommendations of their respective soda tax advisory committees?

Water on All Sides

Urbanist Article
Formidable challenges aren’t keeping Miami from taking bold action against climate change.

SPUR supports the City of San Jose ordinance to adopt Reach Codes for new construction city-wide

Advocacy Letter
SPUR supports the proposed ordinance to adopt city-wide reach codes as a way to further realize the Climate Smart San Jose plan. This ordinance upholds many of the principles laid out in our 2016 report, Fossil-Free Bay Area, such as increasing the energy performance of new buildings and establishing high-efficiency standards is a key strategy to reducing our carbon footprint and fossil fuel use.

How Are San Francisco Schools Doing on Their Commitment to Better Food?

News /
In 2016 the San Francisco Unified School District adopted the Good Food Purchasing Policy, setting criteria and goals for sourcing food ethically, providing healthy options and honoring fair labor practices . Recently , Student Nutrition Services Director Jennifer LeBarre came to SPUR to give an update on how the district is doing on meeting its goals.

SPUR Support for San Jose's Recent Decisions Regarding Coyote Valley

Advocacy Letter
SPUR supports two decisions the San Jose City Council recently made in regard to Coyote Valley: 1. The decision to revisit the long-term vision for Coyote Valley as part of the General Plan 4-Year Review and 2. the council’s continued support for allocating up to $50 million dollars of Measure T funding for Coyote Valley, as was envisioned in the campaign for the ballot measure.