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.

An October deadline for amending local energy codes has inspired many California cities to accelerate adoption of energy efficiency and sustainability “reach” codes, which SPUR helped develop. Because the deadline makes some exceptions for home hardening and emergency standards, Bay Area cities are reassessing their options to exceed the state minimum requirements for resilient building design. Doing so offers big savings but requires incentives to offset upfront costs.

On November 4, 2025, Santa Clara County voters will weigh in on a proposed measure to temporarily raise the county sales tax from 9.125% to 9.75%, estimated to generate $330 million per year until it expires in 2031. While sales taxes are regressive in nature, Measure A would directly benefit low-income and vulnerable communities by backfilling some of the deep federal funding cuts to social safety net services such as Medicaid. SPUR recommends a YES vote on Measure A.

SPUR collaborates with Nuestra Casa to address critical environmental and public health issues, such as groundwater rise and drinking water safety, in East Palo Alto. We asked Nuestra Casa Environmental Justice Fellow Osvaldo Macias about the fruits of this partnership. He explains how our work together has advanced impactful research while extending his organization’s reach and influence in advocating for policy changes.

California has dramatically expanded wildfire spending over the past decade, but most resources still go toward fire response rather than proactive resilience measures like vegetation management, home hardening, and community preparedness. To match the scale of rising wildfire risks, the state must increase and maintain resilience investments.