This June, voters in San Jose will consider the Evergreen Senior Homes Initiative, a ballot measure that would approve a plan to build 900 housing units for seniors on a 200-acre parcel in the Evergreen area. The measure would create significant exemptions from the priorities laid out in the Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan and weaken inclusionary housing requirements. SPUR recommends voting "no."

San Jose’s San Pedro Square is a one-sided retail and entertainment strip. Bars and restaurants line the west side of the street, but the main feature on the east side is a monolithic parking garage. In 2014, SPUR suggested making the first row of parking on the ground floor available for pop-up uses like food trucks and retail. The idea is now becoming a reality.

New technology, changing demographics and shifting consumer preferences have caused a slump in sales at big-box stores, traditional shopping malls and downtown storefronts across the country. But innovative uses of space and new approaches to drawing customers into stores show signs of promise. A recent SPUR forum in San Jose explored how retailers are finding success locally.

Oaklanders have been willing to tax themselves heavily over the years, but it’s never enough to provide an adequate level of services. The need for more, and the inability to deliver it, has been a defining characteristic of the city for the last few decades. How can Oakland change this? By growing its job and tax revenue bases.