This measure appeared on the November 2007 San Francisco ballot. What it does Most members of City commissions and boards are appointed for a fixed number of years, typically four, and their terms expire when that time is up. Under current law, even when the member's term has expired, the member may continue to serve until he or she is reappointed or until a…

This measure appeared on the November 2007 San Francisco ballot. What it does This amendment to the San Francisco City Charter, officially called the Emissions Reduction and Transit Reform Act, is intended to strengthen Proposition E from 1999, creating greater independence and more streamlined operations for our city's transit agency and providing more funding. It also implements some reforms designed to improve labor management…

Includes SPUR's analysis of 11 city measures on the November 6, 2007 ballot.

Every day urban life finds a counterpoint in Seattle’s public art initiatives

It lacks a rail rapid-transit network, but Seattle has a Department of Transportation that runs a fast, efficient bus system and has a specific plan to address climate change.

The Emerald City’s green-tinted take on strategies for integrated capital investment

Seattle has shied away from sweeping public planning as a solution to big problems. Still, San Francisco has much to learn from Seattle’s approach to neighborhoods, industrial lands and capital infrastructure.

A heightened sense of regionalism influences both civic culture and planning law in Seattle

Nestled on the Central Waterfront between China Basin and Candlestick Point, Warmwater Cove lies in disrepair. How can we populate and enliven this forgotten nook of the southeastern waterfront?

Changing government is never easy. But when it comes to the two departments responsible for planning our city, can we afford not to?

Caltrain's surface rail yards represent enormous opportunities for San Francisco. In this report, SPUR proposes a plan to knit together Mission Bay with neighborhoods to the north and west.

San Francisco is about to build its first new subway in decades. It's a great project that could be even better with a few key improvements.

Building high-speed rail in California could reinforce cities as the hubs of our economies and significantly reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. So why is the proposal languishing?

The costs of repairing, seismically upgrading and redeveloping the Port's piers are staggering. Restoring this valuable city asset will require new thinking and new cooperation among government agencies.

Can a politics of place help overcome California's increasingly divisive and dysfunctional politics? This paper explores several geographic scales for “reinventing California” through improving civic engagement.

Downtown San Francisco is the region’s best chance of getting people to work without a car. But to add more jobs, downtown must overcome limits in zoning and transit capacity.

San Francisco should heed the lessons of Vancouver's downtown residential boom: the "living first" policy allowed residential building to outpace office building, resulting in backwards commuting and higher office space rents.

SPUR's executive director interviews San Francisco's planning chief

In 2004, Mayor Gavin Newsom created TechConnect, an initiative to explore how to deliver free wireless Internet throughout San Francisco. After a lengthy public process, the city selected a team of EarthLink and Google. Given the potential benefits of the proposed system, SPUR requests the Board of Supervisors and Public Utilities Commission to adopt the proposed agreement with EarthLink and Google.

How our process prevents real planning — and what we can do about it