Graphic design of an organizational chart becoming cleaner and clearer

Designed to Serve

Resetting city governance to better meet the needs of San Franciscans

transect diagram of a shoreline community with groundwater underneath the soil

Look Out Below

Reducing the risk of groundwater rise in Bay shore cities

Illustration of houses plugging into electricity

Closing the Electrification Affordability Gap

Planning an equitable transition away from fossil fuel heat in Bay Area buildings

sf cityscape

Office-to-Residential Conversion in Downtown SF

Can converting office space to housing help revitalize downtown?

illustration of yellow houses on a dark blue background

Structured for Success

Reforming housing governance in California and the Bay Area

Statement on the 2024 Presidential Election

News /
SPUR CEO and President Alicia John-Baptiste reflects on the results of the presidential election. While things are not working for so many of us in this country, she argues, there is a different path forward we can still choose. One that builds a future based on love and cohesion rather than fear and division. We at SPUR remain committed to this path and will continue turning toward our community — rather than away from it — in the days ahead.

How SF Can Make the Most of Its Opportunity to Streamline Boards and Commissions

News /
Earlier this year, SPUR published a report recommending that San Francisco define the purpose and role of its many commissions and reduce their overall number. The passage of Proposition E sets this work in motion. To ensure an outcome that better supports policymaking, SPUR proposes five steps to a data-driven, deliberative public process.

Smoothing the Transition to Heat Pumps, Part 3: State-Level Legislation

News /
As the Bay Area phases out sales of gas water heaters and gas furnaces, property owners will need to install zero-pollution, high-efficiency electric heat pump devices in buildings when the existing devices fail. But the current process is complicated and expensive. In this installment of our series on improving the process, we explore state-level action to mandate, incentivize, guide, and resource simplified permitting at the local level.

A New Regional Approach to Shoreline Resilience

News /
Bay Area jurisdictions on the shoreline are now required to develop sea level rise adaptation plans as part of a regionally coordinated approach managed by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. SPUR participated in an advisory group for the commission’s soon-to-be-adopted Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan. With the passage of California Proposition 4, local sea level rise planning efforts could soon benefit from bond funding.

Remembering Joe Brown

News /
The world lost a talented urbanist and visionary thinker, and SPUR a great friend, with the death of Joe Brown on October 31. A SPUR member for over 25 years, Joe was the former CEO of EDAW, which he merged into AECOM and became its chief innovation officer.