Governance
We believe: The public sector can and should serve the collective good.
• Improve government’s capacity to provide services and address challenges effectively.
• Support voter engagement.
Our Goals
SPUR Report
Designed to Serve
San Francisco’s governance structure has evolved to distribute authority and maximize oversight. As a result, policies don’t always meet the needs of the people they intend to serve. SPUR outlines how San Francisco can choose to design a better system.
SPUR Voter Guide
The SPUR Voter Guide
The SPUR Voter Guide helps voters understand the issues they will face in the voting booth. We focus on outcomes, not ideology, providing objective analysis on which measures will deliver real solutions.
SPUR Report
Making Government Work
Many of the challenges Oakland faces are worsened by its unusual government structure, which makes it harder for the mayor and other officials to do their jobs well. SPUR explores how the city can adapt its governance structure to better serve Oaklanders.
Updates and Events
Cities of Villages: What San Jose Can Learn from San Diego
News /
Both San Diego and San Jose are growing rapidly. Both cities have adopted general plans that direct new growth into “urban villages.” At a recent SPUR forum, two urban planners from San Diego discussed key challenges and lessons learned with San Jose’s planning staff and the community.
Learning from Washington’s Growth Management Act
Urbanist Article
Washington’s planning laws have teeth; as a result, it’s building more housing.
Remaking Diridon: Principles to Plan and Grow By
News /
Over the next decade, more than $10 billion of transportation investments will start to remake San Jose’s Diridon Station into the first high-speed rail station in the country and the busiest transportation hub west of the Mississippi. This historic opportunity has the potential to reshape the entire South Bay. SPUR proposes seven principles that should guide planning, land use and transportation decisions at Diridon.
SPUR Supports AB 164
Advocacy Letter
SPUR supports AB 164, which would increase the benefit of the state's Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system and improve the food assistance safety net.
SPUR Supports Reorganization of SF Parking & Loading Code
Advocacy Letter
SPUR supports the reorganization of SF parking & loading code, as part of a larger effort to clarify and simplify San Francisco's Planning Code.
2017 Good Government Awards: How Eva Cheong Modernized Transportation at SFO
News /
The 2017 Good Government Awards, Held on March 22, recognized outstanding performances by Managers Working for the City and County of San Francisco. The ceremony honored Eva Cheong for her leadership in enabling the legal operation transportation network companies at SFO.