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.
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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.
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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?

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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.

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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.
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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.

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Updates and Events

Green Light for San Francisco’s New Urban Agriculture Program

News /
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has given the green light for the Recreation and Parks Department (RPD) to take the lead coordinating the city’s support of urban agriculture. Among SPUR's recommended priorities for this program are developing a strategy to reduce community garden waiting lists and operating as a "one-stop-shop" for the people seeking assistance with urban agriculture projects.

SPUR Supports Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone Legislation

Advocacy Letter
One of the biggest obstacles to expanding the number of Californians who enjoy the benefits of urban agriculture is access to land. SPUR strongly encourages state legislators to support Assembly Bill 551, an "opt-in" measure which would allow counties to create "urban agriculture incentive zones," offering a conservative approach to nurturing emergent urban agriculture projects across the state.

SPUR Recommends Priorities for New Urban Agriculture Program

Advocacy Letter
The first year of the new urban agriculture program provides a unique chance to truly expand the city’s internal coordination and general support for urban gardeners and farmers. During recent public meetings, the department expressed interest in receiving recommendations from community organizations regarding how the new program should prioritize its efforts. With this in mind, SPUR offers six recommendations for how the program can be most successful from its inception.

SPUR Supports Urban Agriculture Resolution

Advocacy Letter
SPUR supports the resolution that would create a new program dedicated to urban agriculture within the Recreation and Parks Department (RPD). T he RPD has land, resources and staff that can support the new program in a way unavailable to other departments and understands that the mission of this new program is to coordinate with other agencies and community groups, rather than replace them.

Focusing San Francisco’s Food Access Efforts

News /
While many parts of San Francisco are full of fresh food retailers, other neighborhoods lack greengrocers of any size. According to the SF Health Department , some areas of the city — including Treasure Island, the Tenderloin, Hunters Point and Visitacion Valley, among others — have limited to no fresh food retail options. On June 18, Supervisor Eric Mar introduced an amended version of his…

Restoring San Francisco’s Urban Watersheds

News /
Before we paved the streets of San Francisco, little creeks and wetlands were abundant. Today, as in most cities, these natural water features have been replaced by a sewer network that effectively throws away rainwater instead of finding ways to reuse it. The SF Public Utilities Commission is launching a new effort to change our approach to stormwater management.
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