Upcoming Events

SPUR’s annual Transit + Design Workshops provide a space to learn about the research and design tools that help create a great experience for transit users. Come interact with talented designers around this year’s theme — “Mind the Gaps” — and celebrate transit design successes happening around the region and around the world. Generously sponsored by TransitCenter. Workshops include: Meet Your Customer: How to Create Value for Riders + Business Models Inc. + OakDOT When you leave the customer out...

An increasing number of workers are self-employed, many as gig workers who use an online platform to perform specific services. What does gig work look like in the Bay Area, and who is working in these jobs? What policy ideas (like portable benefits) could improve their working conditions? Join an all-star panel as academics, practitioners and employers discuss the current and future state of this work in the region. Co-presented by the Aspen Institute Future of Work Initiative. + Vikrum...

Each city in California is required to plan and zone for a certain amount of housing (their Regional Housing Needs Allocation, or RHNA), but for many years there was little to no way to incentivize meaningful compliance. Now that SB 35 has created consequences for cities that fail to build their allocation, it’s important for the state and its regions to reform how these targets are determined, and this year’s SB 828 is one significant step forward in this effort...

With products, customers and sources of revenue, public transit is a business. But low farebox recovery ratios, subsidized operation and other quirks make it a business quite different from the norm. In an era where public transit is under pressure to evolve, come learn about how the business of public transit works today — and how it might improve in the future. + Travis Fox / SFMTA + Ron Downing / Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District + Justin Lokitz / Business Models, Inc.

San Francisco’s planning department is currently analyzing changes in the city’s housing stock over time, trends and factors affecting housing affordability, stages of neighborhood gentrification and displacement, and policies related to community stabilization. This comprehensive understanding will inform the development and refinement of strategies to enable San Francisco to continue to be a diverse, equitable and inclusive city into the future. Join us to hear more about their findings. + Kimia Haddadan / San Francisco Planning Department + Andrea Nelson...

Grab a drink and hear from the key people who are shaping the region’s future. In this installment of SPUR’s exciting Drinks and Discourse series, we sit down with Catherine Bracy, co-founder and executive director at TechEquity Collaborative, a group that advocates for a tech-driven economy in the Bay Area that works for everyone. Come learn about her career path, the jobs of tomorrow and how tech can create opportunity. + Noah Christman / SPUR + Catherine Bracy / TechEquity Collaborative

These days, it seems like a new tech company ruffling city feathers has become a common occurrence. Are there are better ways to help the public and private sectors get along when it comes to emerging mobility? Come hear about these omnipresent issues from the frontlines. + Warren Logan / SFCTA + Danielle Harris / SFMTA + Joan Kisthardt / Marble + Vikrum Aiyer / Postmates + Danielle Dai / Oakland Department of Transportation + Marlo Sandler / Bird

As part of the SPUR Regional Strategy, we are assessing the state of regionalism and regional governance on a variety of issues, including housing. Recent state efforts and the enduring housing affordability crisis have renewed the debate about how we should make decisions on housing and land use. Join us for a lively discussion about the state of regional governance around housing and what proposals, if any, should be made to change who makes these key decisions. + Kate Hartley...

According to a recent McKinsey report, the construction industry is one of the least digitized sectors in the world and is ripe for innovation in productivity. In addition, construction costs are rising at unsustainable levels, rendering many of today’s development projects infeasible. A growing number of companies are developing alternative construction technologies, from modular homes to mass timber, that aim to make construction cheaper, faster and better. Learn about some of these technologies from our local innovators. Generously sponsored by...

San Francisco’s Embarcadero seawall was built over a century ago and thus was not constructed to meet modern seismic safety standards. However, the Port of San Francisco is leading the charge to shore it up in order to make it safer in the event of an earthquake while also better protecting the city from sea level rise. Hear about the risks and benefits involved in the costly and complicated process to strengthen the city’s seawall. Generously sponsored by PG&E. +...

History is full of innovation in how we finance, design and build homes. Though today we face seemingly intractable urban challenges around space, cost, community and more, a new wave of entrepreneurs and activists is rising up with diverse and creative solutions to these problems. Come learn from past experiments and meet the pioneers changing how we think about housing. + Jon Dishotsky / Starcity + Pam Hughes / CoBuy + Tim Wagner / Accenture + Antje Steinmuller / California College of the Arts

Though known primarily for their high-quality patient care and community health advocacy, the hospitals of Santa Clara County are also one of the region’s strongest economic drivers, generating more than $18.5 billion in spending annually, more than 90,000 jobs and $10.7 billion in labor earnings. In addition, hospital growth is set to fuel the Bay Area’s construction industry over the next five years. Join us to learn more about how these facilities foster not just our health, but our economy...

As part of the SPUR Regional Strategy, we are assessing the state of regionalism and regional governance on a variety of issues, including sustainability. The Bay Area has long been a national leader in promoting environmental solutions. Saving the Bay, preserving the greenbelt and ensuring clean air are some of our region’s great successes, but as the region continues to grow, countless new challenges will materialize. Who should be in charge of these issues as they arise? Join us to...