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.

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.

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.

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.

Room for More

SPUR Report August 24, 2017

The Silicon Valley economic miracle has become a housing nightmare. As rents and home prices continue to rise, the region’s economic growth, diversity and climate are threatened. As the largest city in the Bay Area, San Jose has a special responsibility to lead on innovative housing solutions. SPUR lays out 20 concrete steps that San Jose can take to address the chronic housing shortage.

SF Makes Sweeping Changes to Affordable Housing Requirements

News / August 15, 2017

This summer, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt legislation that makes big changes to the city’s affordable housing requirements for residential development. SPUR is happy to see the supervisors coming together on a contentious issue, but we remain concerned that the new requirements are not financially feasible and will result in less affordable housing actually getting built.