After a major disaster, our transportation infrastructure could be severely damaged. How are we going to get around in the weeks and months after an earthquake, if one or more of our regional transportation links fails? Who should lead the recovery effort? And what can we do now to make our roads, bridges and tunnels more resilient?

SPUR supports the plastic bag ban for three reasons. First, it will encourage people to use a truly reusable bag instead of a one-time, throwaway product by allowing retailers to charge a small fee for paper bags. Second it is revenue neutral because implementation and enforcement will be covered by a new fee. Finally, plastic bags are wasteful and environmentally damaging from cradle to grave.

San Francisco has successfully adjusted to many economic changes in its past, but the city's economic development system is not yet working as well as it needs to. The city faces a major question about how to organize and pay for economic development work. This memorandum explores what the appropriate model should be for carrying out business formation, retention and attraction in San Francisco.

SPUR requests the PEIS/EIR be revised to include a joint operation alternative for a shared-use rail system that would allow Caltrain and high-speed rail to operate as a single, unified system on the Peninsula.

Artists have always seized upon the frayed patches of cities, where lower rents, available space, and fewer rules make the creative life possible. Last fall, the San Francisco Arts Commission's Art in Storefronts program brought together artists and vacant storefronts in three neighborhoods—Central Market/Tenderloin, Bayview, and the Mission—to call attention to the economic and community development potential of this symbiosis.

This measure appeared on the June 2010 San Francisco ballot. What it does Proposition A will extend a 1990 special property tax to upgrade the seismic resistance of San Francisco Unified School District facilities, make fire- and life-safety improvements, and address deferred capital maintenance. Proposition A is a special tax that appears on property owners' property taxes and requires a two-thirds vote to pass…

This measure appeared on the June 2010 San Francisco ballot. What it does Proposition B is a general obligation bond that will allow the City to incur $412.3 million in bond debt to finance improvements to the Auxiliary Water Supply System, critical firefighting facilities and Fire Department infrastructure. Proposition B will also finance a new facility in Mission Bay that will incorporate the police…

This measure appeared on the June 2010 San Francisco ballot. What it does Proposition C amends the San Francisco City Charter. All 11 commission nominees will be subject to confirmation by the Board of Supervisors and could be removed only for cause. The measure also specifies the purpose of the commission as being to "develop, recognize and promote film activities in the city." This…

This measure appeared on the June 2010 San Francisco ballot. What it does Proposition D is an amendment to the San Francisco City Charter that proposes three changes to the City's pension system. The goal of the measure is to address a portion of the long-term unfunded liabilities in the pension and health systems for retired City workers"”that is, the benefits the City is…

This measure appeared on the June 2010 San Francisco ballot. What it does Proposition E would amend the San Francisco Administrative Code to require the Police Department to include a line item for its expenditures on security for City officials and for dignitaries visiting San Francisco. Currently, the San Francisco Administrative Code and state law allow City funds to pay for drivers and security…

This measure appeared on the June 2010 San Francisco ballot. What it does Proposition F is an amendment to the San Francisco Residential Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which covers limitations upon rent increases. It expands the application of financial hardship as grounds for suspending rent increases. Currently, tenants can appeal certain rent increases, generally those based upon capital improvements or the passing on of the…

This measure appeared on the June 2010 San Francisco ballot. Image: Colleen McHughWhat it does Proposition G is a declaration of policy reinforcing the San Francisco electorate's position that the Transbay Transit Center at First and Mission streets should be the Northern California terminus for California High Speed Rail. The declaration of policy further calls for the California High Speed Rail Authority to…

Why has the involvement of designers in urban planning dwindled over the last century? What can planners learn from the recent movement in "design thinking"—and how can these lessons lead to more visionary planning and the design of more humanist places?

Controller Ben Rosenfield talks about economic booms, busts and their impact on the City budget

Includes SPUR's analysis of 5 city propositions on the June 2010 ballot.