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
Supervisors as Planners
Urbanist Article
Jim Chappell outlines the changes in the roles of the Board of Supervisors in the planning process, which empowers both the Board and the neighbors of proposed projects in appealing building changes and restricting permits.
Democracy and Planning
Urbanist Article
Everyone thinks the planning process should be democratic. To act in the name of greater democracy trumps almost all other claims in the public discourse. But it’s not at all obvious what this idea really means.
Crisis and Opportunity in the City Budget
Urbanist Article
Due to San Francisco's $347 million budget shortfall in 2003-04 fiscal year, cuts and changes in operations are necessary. SPUR offers both short and long-term suggestions for how to meet the budget.
An Open Letter to the Business Community
Urbanist Article
Jim Chappell lays out the interdependent relationship between business and government, and explains why it is in the business community's interest to support taxes and better public transit.
An Open Letter to the Left
Urbanist Article
Gabriel Metcalf argues that the liberal elected need to stop vilifying business, and instead foster a healthy economic environment in San Francisco to realistically accomplish their social improvements.
Only in San Francisco?
Urbanist Article
Analyzing various surveys, San Francisco historian Rich DeLeon proves that San Francisco justly earns its reputation as the most liberal city in the US.