In this year's State of SPUR address, given at our annual Board of Directors retreat, SPUR President and CEO Alicia John-Baptiste reflected on the past few years and looked ahead to how we can build on what we've learned, so that the region's future is one in which all people thrive.
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate pollution, California will need to build out the infrastructure to make walking, biking and riding transit the default ways to get around. Senate Bill 288, which expires this year, makes it faster to build commonsense sustainable transportation projects. SPUR recommends that the state extend and improve the law by passing SB 922. This brief provides background on SB 288 and describes the impact of the law, including case studies on projects built since it was passed.
This year, SPUR is celebrating staff members — a.k.a. “Spurritos”— who have served the organization for 10 years or more. This month we profile Strategy and Operations Director Lawrence Li, who keeps the SPUR Urban Center in San Francisco — and our remote work across the Bay Area — humming seamlessly despite global pandemics and other unforeseen disruptions.
Since 2018, one of SPUR’s top priorities has been research and planning for San José's Guadalupe River Park. The initial phase of this work culminated in January with a virtual exhibition. W e are now excited to announce our plans to move forward with policy ideas for the river park and other areas in and around downtown San José, supported by essential funding from the Knight Foundation.
One of the root causes of San Francisco’s high housing costs is the city’s ongoing failure to build enough housing, a problem that’s been compounding for decades. A measure that SPUR and others are proposing for San Francisco’s November ballot would take two approaches to building more affordable housing: streamlining the permitting process and deepening the bench of construction workers.