SPUR's Guide to California Housing Laws

A comprehensive analysis for planners, housing advocates, project sponsors, and community stakeholders

People walking in San Jose's San Pedro Square

The SPUR Annual Report

Learn about our impact

new multifamily housing under construction

Permitting Progress

How charter reform can help San Francisco speed delivery of housing, transit, new businesses, and more

Photo of Muni bus driving down Geary in SF

Taking Muni's Vitals

Data show the agency performs well compared with peers across the country

Illustration of a crane stacking cargo containers that say "sound fiscal policy," "structural change" and "economic growth"

Balancing Oakland's Budget

Closing the city’s structural deficit to move toward fiscal solvency and economic growth

photo of San Francisco with orange skies from wildfire smoke in September 2020

Shared Risk, Shared Resilience

New governance structures for community wildfire resilience

Building storefronts in downtown San Jose

Getting In on the Ground Floor

Activation strategies for downtown San José

Could Germany’s Co-Developed Urban Housing Be a Model for the Bay Area?

News / September 21, 2017

Germany’s baugruppen (“building groups”) are a modern form of co-housing in which households of all kinds collectively finance and build a multifamily building as a means to improve quality of life and foster community. Could it work here? SPUR is hosting a lunchtime panel conversation on October 5 with experts in co-housing and co-living to explore baugruppen and other models.

Why We All Benefit From Affordable Housing With Services

News / September 20, 2017

Voters around the Bay Area have shown their commitment to addressing homelessness by passing generous funding measures — but resistance to proposed housing that would actually serve homeless residents remains strong. In order to approve and build these homes, the Bay Area will need political will and public support. Here are three reasons why supportive housing should matter to all of us.

Bringing BART to Downtown San Jose: Three Things to Consider

News / September 19, 2017

The extension of BART to San Jose is moving forward. The city and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Board of Directors will soon vote on some major decision points: where to locate stations and what tunneling method to use. While SPUR isn’t taking a position on all of these decisions, we offer a few ways to think about each of the options.

Harnessing High-Speed Rail

SPUR Report / September 13, 2017

In connecting the Bay Area to Los Angeles, high-speed rail will run through cities such as Fresno and Bakersfield that were bypassed when Interstate 5 was built. High-speed rail can reconnect these cities with each other and the coast, which has the potential to improve their economies. It can also change California’s sprawling growth pattern by revitalizing downtowns and shifting growth back toward urban centers.

What Temescal and Rockridge Have to Do With Oakland’s Housing Shortage

News / September 6, 2017

Oakland neighborhoods like Temescal and Rockridge are walkable, have great restaurants, parks and transit access — and are too expensive for most. These neighborhoods would be great places to build the city’s needed housing, but many have zoning regulations that prevent it.