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 looking down San Francisco's Market Street toward downtown

Reinventing Downtown

A new model to revitalize San Francisco’s urban center

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

photo of San Francisco City Hall with a construction crane in the foreground

Charter for Change

Empowering San Francisco’s government through charter reform

An Interview with Brian O'Neill

Urbanist Article / January 1, 2004

Brian O'Neill is Superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), one of the largest urban national parks in the world, with over 75,000 acres of land and 28 miles of coastline. The park itself is over twice as large as San Francisco. O'Neill, a long-time SPUR Board member, is recognized for his leadership in the Bay Area environmental community and as an international…

Small Steps Toward a Better City

Urbanist Article / January 1, 2001

Gabriel Metcalf interviews City Controller Ed Harrington. Harrington, who served from 1990-2008, describes his role as not just financially managing city departments, but assisting them with staff and resources to be more effective.

It Takes a City

Urbanist Article / September 1, 2000

Arlene Ackerman and Kathleen Turner field questions on educational reform, the role of parents in education, and the position the city must take to ensure the success of the system.

Chinatown(s)

Urbanist Article / January 1, 2000

David Lee discusses demographic patterns, cultural shifts and other changes that directly effect the Asian population in San Francisco.

An Interview with Joe Bodovitz

Urbanist Article / September 1, 1999

This interview with a leading figure in regional planning discusses the role of SPUR in the founding of BCDC and the great regional planning successes and near successes in the Bay Area's history.