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

Rethinking the Corporate Campus

SPUR Report / April 20, 2017

Technology has become the lifeblood of the San Francisco Bay Area economy, but the office environments where this work takes place do not reflect the innovation occurring within. The traditional suburban corporate campus reinforces dependence on cars and pushes sprawl development into open spaces and farmland. How do we create a more efficient, sustainable and high-performing model for the Bay Area workplace?

Spare the Air, Cool the Climate: The Bay Area’s New Strategy for Clean Energy and Transportation

News / April 19, 2017

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has adopted a major new climate action strategy that will move the region closer to attaining its goals for cleaner air and reduced carbon emissions. SPUR strongly supports this bold vision for a post-carbon economy by 2050.

Lessons for Diridon: Denver’s Success Story That Almost Didn’t Happen

News / April 5, 2017

Since Denver Union Station reopened in 2014, it has become one of the nation’s best examples of a modern intermodal train station embedded in a transit-friendly urban neighborhood. The project has a number of important lessons for the team that’s planning the transformation of San Jose’s Diridon Station into a major transportation hub with the country’s first high-speed rail station.

Who Benefits From Oakland’s “Community Benefits” Negotiations?

News / March 27, 2017

With new construction heating up in Oakland, local groups are asking developers to pay for “community benefits” beyond what the city requires. But as Uber backs away from its plans for downtown, Oaklanders should beware that pushing too hard may lose the city the most important community benefit of all: the long-term increase in tax rolls that the city desperately needs.

Friendship and Five Other Principles for Designing a New Bay Area Transit Map

News / March 23, 2017

The Bay Area has more than two dozen public transit operators, but few people use more than one service — and many don’t use them at all. Getting more people onto buses and trains will mean making it easier for potential riders to understand what services are available. A new partnership is looking at how a user-friendly regional transit map might help bridge the gap.