Model Places Illustration

Housing

We believe: Housing is a human right and should be affordable to everyone.

Our Goals

• Increase the supply of housing.

• Provide more affordable housing for low- and middle-income residents.

• Protect low-income communities of color from displacement.

Monte Vista Gardens apartments in San José

SPUR Report

Structured for Success

A key cause of California’s high housing costs is its decentralized and fragmented housing governance system. SPUR makes 11 recommendations to set California and the Bay Area on the path to produce the housing we need.
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Monte Vista Gardens apartments in San José

SPUR Report

Structured for Success

A key cause of California’s high housing costs is its decentralized and fragmented housing governance system. SPUR makes 11 recommendations to set California and the Bay Area on the path to produce the housing we need.
Read More
photo of balconies on an apartment building

Research

Losing Ground

SPUR examines how the Bay Area’s housing market has become shaped by scarcity and wide economic divides — not only among income groups but also among races and ethnicities.
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photo of balconies on an apartment building

Research

Losing Ground

SPUR examines how the Bay Area’s housing market has become shaped by scarcity and wide economic divides — not only among income groups but also among races and ethnicities.
Read More
Apartment Building

Research

Housing the Middle

SPUR digs into the housing market’s failure to meet the needs of middle-income households. California can look to innovative programs across the country as models for how to address the state’s housing challenges.
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Apartment Building

Research

Housing the Middle

SPUR digs into the housing market’s failure to meet the needs of middle-income households. California can look to innovative programs across the country as models for how to address the state’s housing challenges.
Read More
Apartment Construction

Research

Planning by Ballot

SPUR has created the most up-to-date database of local land use ballot measures that impact housing production in California. Over the long term, measures that restrict infill housing can undermine housing affordability and have the potential to exacerbate racial segregation.
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Apartment Construction

Research

Planning by Ballot

SPUR has created the most up-to-date database of local land use ballot measures that impact housing production in California. Over the long term, measures that restrict infill housing can undermine housing affordability and have the potential to exacerbate racial segregation.
Read More

Updates and Events

Four Tools for Stimulating Economic Recovery Through New Homebuilding

News /
During the last recession, homebuilding ground to a halt. We can’t let the same thing happen this time. What can be done to keep the pipeline of new housing open through this crisis and recovery? SPUR and the Terner Center offer four principles to help guide new housing construction and facilitate economic recovery.

One Idea for Economic Recovery: Treat Housing as Infrastructure

News /
As California and the Bay Area face the urgency of economic recovery, we must take immediate steps to address the housing affordability crisis. What if we were able to build housing the way we build other critical infrastructure: when we need it, not just when we’re in an economic boom?

Eliminate SF's Conditional Use Requirement for Demolitions That Would Add New Units

Advocacy Letter /
Current law allows the demolition of "demonstrably unaffordable" single-family homes without a conditional use authorization. SPUR supports the same treatment for these projects as for less valuable homes, but we suggest eliminating conditional use approvals for the demolition of non-historic single-family homes where additional units would be added post-demolition, regardless of their value.

SPUR Calls for Clarification of Emergency Rule No. 9 and Its Impact on Housing Development

Advocacy Letter /
SPUR calls on Honorable Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye and members of the Judicial Council to clarify that Emergency Rule No. 9 does not change the statutes of limitations for CEQA and land use claims. Unless it is amended, this rule will impose a hold on housing developments that are desperately needed to address California’s housing crisis – a crisis that is intensified by the COVID-19 emergency.

SPUR Urges California Congressional Delegation to Support Affordable Housing

Advocacy Letter /
SPUR joined NPH, All Home and more than 100 other organizations in calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the California Congressional Delegation to implement rental/debt relief for households unable to pay for housing as a result of COVID-19 and to designate affordable housing as essential infrastructure in any future stimulus packages.

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.
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