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Sheltering in Place Reveals How Much Parking Dominates Our Cities — and Lives

News /
Shelter in place has made it starkly evident just how much space cities allocate to cars and parking. The City of San José is currently considering changes to the amount of parking it requires of new development. All of this makes it a good time to unpack the many ways that parking impacts neighborhoods and quality of life.

Close Off Some Streets — for the Health of the Public

News /
The mayors of the region should follow Oakland’s lead and close some streets to through traffic to create space for walking and biking. By making it safer for us to be outside in a socially distant way, “slow streets” help us combat another public health crisis: chronic diseases caused by inactivity. They also equalize the opportunity to be outside for communities that lack open space.

SPUR Supports Discounted Land Prices for Affordable Housing Projects on BART Property

Advocacy Letter /
SPUR supports proposed amendments to BART's transit-oriented development policy that would offer land discounts to projects that provide affordable homes. These amendments are practical tools that will help produce affordable housing at BART station areas. Transit-oriented development that includes both market-rate and affordable housing is critical in the effort to build a sustainable and equitable region.

Rising Together

Urbanist Article /
SPUR was founded over 100 years ago to help San Francisco rebuild after the 1906 earthquake. Now, as then, SPUR’s job is to help the region recover from a crisis and emerge more resilient, more sustainable, more equitable and more prosperous. We are calling this work Rising Together.

SPUR Supports Allowing More Housing Construction to Proceed Under the New Shelter-In-Place Order

Advocacy Letter /
In coalition with local chambers of commerce, business associations, trades councils and housing advocates, SPUR signed onto a letter urging the seven Bay Area county public health officers to modify the next shelter-in-place order with regard to housing construction. The coalition advocated for allowing a wider range of projects to continue, noting that these projects often pay fees or dedicate land for affordable housing.

Bay Area COVID-19 Housing Resources

News /
Homebuilders, residents, housing advocates, city staff and elected officials across the Bay Area are working to understand the fluid and challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place orders. SPUR and partner groups have created a database of up-to-date information and resources about finding and staying in housing, planning, construction and more.

The Magic of Empty Streets

News /
Writing in The New York Times, SPUR's Allison Arieff reflects on the opportunity COVID-19 presents to fix our cities: "Ultimately, what we really need to figure out is how the world gets put back together. Our new COVID-19 reality shows that behavior can change. It is also, however, making it glaringly apparent how poorly existing systems (and places) have been working for most."

This Crisis Is an Opportunity to Build a Stronger and More Affordable Region

News /
The COVID pandemic has highlighted a fundamental truth: Housing insecurity is a threat to our society — both at the height of the market and during crises like this one. By understanding what caused Bay Area housing prices to escalate over the past decade, and how that changed who can and can’t afford to live here, the region can make a course correction.

Bail Out People and the Planet, but Don’t Bail Out Polluters

News /
Congress is considering an almost two trillion dollar relief package to help those impacted by COVID-19 and jumpstart the economy. As part of this stimulus package, the Trump Administration is considering a multi-billion dollar bailout for Big Oil and Big Coal. Instead, Congress should use this stimulus to lay the foundations for shared economic prosperity founded in a clean and restorative economy.

The Best Response to COVID-19 Is to Exercise Our Collective Action Muscle

News /
The COVID-19 pandemic is teaching us something extraordinarily important: We are part of a collective whole and our individual actions determine the health of that whole. This is an opportunity to develop our understanding of our interdependence and exercise our collective action muscle. To do this effectively, there are practices we can put in place right now, even before we begin post-pandemic rebuilding.

2020 SPUR Impact Awards: Rebecca Garcia Helps Provide Housing and Shelter for All

News /
The 2020 SPUR Impact Awards recognize outstanding job performance by public sector leaders in Santa Clara County. This year’s ceremony recognized Rebecca Garcia for her leadership on issues of affordable housing and homelessness for the City of Morgan Hill. Ms. Garcia built cross-sector partnerships to develop unique solutions to the full spectrum of housing needs.

2020 SPUR Impact Awards: Building Reach Code Team Helps San José Go Carbon Neutral

News /
The 2020 SPUR Impact Awards recognize outstanding job performance by public sector leaders in Santa Clara County. The 2020 SPUR Impact Awards recognize outstanding job performance by public sector leaders in Santa Clara County. This year’s ceremony recognized the City of San José’s Building Reach Code team that developed new building requirements to advance the city’s climate action plan and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Safety First Report Cover

Safety First

SPUR Report /
The Bay Area is both a treasured place and a hazardous environment where flooding, wildfires and earthquakes are common today. These hazards are likely to become more frequent, larger and more damaging as climate change puts the region’s people, built environment and natural habitats at risk. As a region exposed to multiple hazards, how can we manage for all of them at the same time?

SPUR Urges Congress to Include Transit Funding in Federal Rescue Packages

Advocacy Letter /
SPUR sent letters to Senator Feinstein, Senator Harris, and Congresswoman Pelosi, urging Congress to account for the revenue impacts to transit in rescue packages as part of the novel coronavirus response. We further urge Congress to distribute funding using a formula-based approach that accounts for losses faced by all transit operators throughout the country.