Balancing Oakland's Budget
Closing the city’s structural deficit to move toward fiscal solvency and economic growth
Where to Put the Downtown San Jose BART Station: Go West
News / In the next few months, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority will make big decisions about where and how BART will come to San Jose. One of the big decisions is where the downtown San Jose station should be located. Of the two options on the table, SPUR strongly supports the west downtown option. Here's why.
The Rise of the YIMBY Movement
Urbanist Article / In a region where people largely agree with each other about national issues, our most heated political debates revolve around local land use. The emergence of a Yes In My Back Yard movement has the potential to change long-unchallenged political dynamics.
Bye-Bye to By-Right Housing
Urbanist Article / Every reform proposal has powerful opponents, and Governor Jerry Brown’s “by-right” housing proposal was no exception. As a result, the policy, which would have automatically approved certain housing developments that comply with local zoning, failed to pass in the legislature.
What East Oakland Can Teach Us About Displacement
Urbanist Article / More and more people with the means to purchase a home are turning to the few places left in the Bay Area that are still (relatively) affordable. This includes East Oakland, which experienced the Bay Area's most explosive growth in home prices, resulting in our current phenomenon of displacement without development.
What 2016 Meant for Bay Area Cities
News / So much happened in 2016. It was a year that saw major progress, along with major setbacks. And the outcome of the national election raised the stakes even higher. Here’s a look at the highs and lows — and where SPUR will be focusing its energies in the new year.