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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Updates and Events

Promoting Homeownership Through Condominium Conversion

SPUR Report / July 21, 2004

While condominium conversion is one way of expanding home ownership, it frequently results in tenant displacement. SPUR analyzes how to promote homeownership while mitigating the negative consequences.

Large Retail Commercial Sites in San Francisco: Issues and Opportunities

Urbanist Article / July 1, 2003

Planners Joshua Switzky and Marshall Foster explain how new housing development can enliven the re-development of large retail sites.

More CEQA Delays?

Urbanist Article / July 1, 2003

A new amendment to the California Environmental Quality Act adds yet another layer of difficulty to the entitlement process, threatening San Francisco’s capacity to produce infill housing.

San Francisco's Housing Crisis

Urbanist Article / March 1, 2003

Everyone in San Francisco agrees we have a housing crisis. Few agree on what to do about it. One thing we can all agree on: there is not enough housing in San Francisco.

San Francisco’s Affordable Housing Bond

SPUR Report / August 2, 2002

Proposition A has played a decisive role in expanding the production of affordable housing in San Francisco. SPUR analyzes the success of the measure and describes how it should be expanded.

Homelessness in a Progressive City

SPUR Report / July 17, 2002

Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on addressing the symptoms of homelessness in San Francisco each year. Supporting social services that focus on the causes of homelessness may provide a better solution.