The impacts of climate change have raised grave concerns in national security and humanitarian communities. Shifting weather patterns have disrupted food and water supplies and have taken a tremendous human toll around the world while raising diplomacy, security, and humanitarian challenges for the United States. Join our panel with retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Dr. Paul Clarke, conflict and mass-atrocities expert Michael Kleinman of Humanity United, April Rinne, Director of WaterCredit for Water.org and the San Francisco Chronicle’s David R. Baker as moderator. Reception to follow.

654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4015 [ map ]

Free to members $5 for non-members

After the initial devastation of a natural disaster comes the long process of rebuilding communities in the affected areas. Co-founders Kate Stohr and Cameron Sinclair of Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit design services firm, will talk about their involvement in long-term rebuilding initiatives in Haiti. The organization has significant experience in leading the reconstruction of transitional and permanent infrastructure in post-disaster contexts. Already working in Haiti prior to the earthquake, Architecture for Humanity has also been involved in rebuilding efforts post-tsunami in India and Sri Lanka and in the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4015 [ map ]

$10-$20 sliding scale admission for SPUR members and general public. Register here.

The quest for sustainability will increasingly concentrate development in cities, generating a greater fusion of old and new styles of architecture, especially as policy incentives are implemented that encourage major additions to existing buildings. Charles F. Bloszies, AIA, author of a forthcoming book from Princeton Architectural Press exploring this trend, will join preservation architect Charles Chase of Architectural Resources Group, Anne-Catrin Schultz, author of Carlo Scarpa--Layers (Menges, 2007) and real estate broker Dan Cressman of Grubb & Ellis in a discussion of the complex issues involved. Moderated by Tim Culvahouse, editor of arcCA. Co-sponsored by AIA San Francisco.

654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4015 [ map ]

Free to AIA and SPUR members $5 for non-members

Join us for an evening of architectural conjecture, urban speculation and landscape futures with BLDGBLOG author Geoff Manaugh. Released last year, the BLDGBLOG book compiles Manaugh's famous genre-defying insights into five chapters—blending history, design, urban exploration, science fiction, climate change and city planning with a keen interest in how humans shape the built environment. Whether you're a fan of the blog or book, this is an event you won’t want to miss!

654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4015 [ map ]

Free to members $5 for non-members

A survey of utopian urbanism, 49 Cities provides a remarkable insight into the contemporary metropolis and our efforts over time to make cities more controllable, monumental, organic, taller, denser, sparser or greener. Join us for this opening program with 49 Cities curator Dan Wood, architect and ecological designer Sim Van der Ryn and Jennifer Wolch, dean of the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design, who will discuss and debate their varied approaches toward a common goal of achieving a healthier, more resource-efficient world. We’ll conclude with a wine-and-cheese reception in the storefront gallery, where guests will vote on their favorite utopian vision.       

654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4015 [ map ]

$10-$20 sliding scale admission for SPUR members and general public. Register here.

In February of 2009, as dour economic conditions threatened to worsen unabated, President Obama warned that massive government intervention was necessary to prevent "a much deeper economic downturn." Congress responded with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a $787 billion federal stimulus package. Did it work? A year later, Dan Bernal, District Director for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, will analyze the effects of the stimulus, while José Luis Moscovich, Executive Director of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, will discuss the impacts of the stimulus funding on San Francisco transportation programs.

654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4015 [ map ]

Free to members $5 for non-members

While climate change affects us all, it will have a more severe effect on people of color and the poor.  Join us for a presentation by UC Berkeley's Rachel Morello-Frosch, co-author of The Climate Gap (2009), followed by a panel discussion of  what Bay Area businesses and organizations are doing to reduce the disproportionate impacts of climate change. Panelists include educator Michele Rodriguez, Emily Kirsch of the Ella Baker Center and Erica Mackie, co-founder of Gridalternatives. Join us for a reception beforehand at 5:00.  Co-sponsored by the Northern California chapter of the American Planning Association. (AICP credits pending.)

654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4015 [ map ]

Free for SPUR and APA Northern California members General public $5

Good design can solve everyday problems. Join Min Day Architecture, Mike and Maaike, Stamen Design, Surface Design, Kuth Ranieri Architects and Volume, some of the brightest minds from the vast and varied San Francisco design community, as they present simple solutions to some of the city’s most pressing issues, selected by urban leaders who can help launch them into action.

Participating urban leaders include Monique Moyer, Executive Director, Port of San Francisco; Nathaniel Ford, Executive Director, SFMTA; Chris Meany, Principal, Wilson Meany Sullivan; Michael Cohen, Director, City of San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development; Carlos Garcia, Superintendent, San Francisco Unified School District; Zahid Sardar, author, editor and columnist.

The fast-paced event, which highlights multiple design solutions to everyday life, will conclude with a reception and more conversation on the fourth floor library and rooftop of the new SPUR Urban Center. The conversation will be moderated by design writer Alissa Walker, contributing editor for GOOD.

PLEASE NOTE: GENERAL ADMISSION FOR THIS EVENT IS $10. ALL SPUR AND AIASF MEMBERS MUST BUY TICKETS IN ADVANCE.

TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED HERE.

654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4015 [ map ]

$10; registration required Register here.

Eco-Urbanism is a movement that emphasizes sustainability, as planners promote green buildings, "closed-loop" architecture and neighborhood planning, and seek to build robust transit systems that can play a role in reducing emissions. Join panelists Carl Anthony, founder of Urban Habitat; Jeff Tumlin of Nelson\Nygaard; Leah Shahum, executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition; Harrison Fraker, former dean of UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design; and exhibition curator Benjamin Grant.

654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4015 [ map ]

Free to members $5 for non-members

The Downtown Plan and the Plan for Mission Bay were among the first schemes in a new era of urban planning that responded to the excesses of the Moderns. Newly powerful neighborhood and community groups insisted that planners consider their needs and values, and promoted a planning agenda characterized by sensitivity to context, historic preservation, localism and inclusivity. Join panelists Dean Macris, former San Francisco planning director; Aaron Peskin, preservationist and former Board of Supervisors president; and exhibition curator Benjamin Grant.

654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4015 [ map ]

Free to members $5 for non-members