Planning

Our goal: Add new jobs and housing where they will support equity and sustainability, and make neighborhoods safe and welcoming to everyone.

SPUR’s Five-Year Priorities:

• Ensure that communities are safe, inclusive and equipped to meet all residents’ daily needs with a diverse mix of businesses and services.

• Prioritize investment in and access to parks, nature and public spaces as a driver for social cohesion and economic opportunity.

• Ensure that regionally significant neighborhood plans in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland advance equity, sustainability and prosperity.

Find more planning research

  • SPUR Report

    Model Places

    Over the next 50 years, the San Francisco Bay Area is expected to gain as many as 4 million people and 2 million jobs. In a region where a crushing housing shortage is already threatening quality of life, how can we welcome new residents and jobs without paving over green spaces or pushing out long-time community members?

    Read More

  • SPUR Report

    A Downtown for Everyone

    Downtown Oakland is poised to take on a more important role in the region. But the future is not guaranteed. An economic boom could stall — or take off in a way that harms the city’s character, culture and diversity. How can downtown grow while providing benefits to all?

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  • SPUR Report

    The Future of Downtown San José

    Downtown San José is the most walkable, transit-oriented place in the South Bay. But it needs more people. SPUR identifies six big ideas for achieving a more successful and active downtown.

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  • SPUR Report

    The Future of Downtown San Francisco

    The movement of jobs to suburban office parks is as much of a threat to the environment as residential sprawl — if not a greater one. Our best strategy is to channel more job growth to existing centers, like transit-rich downtown San Francisco.

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  • SPUR Report

    Getting to Great Places

    Silicon Valley, the most dynamic and innovative economic engine in the world, is not creating great urban places. Having grown around the automobile, the valley consists largely of lowslung office parks, surface parking and suburban tract homes. SPUR’s report Getting to Great Places diagnoses the impediments San José faces in creating excellent, walkable urban places and recommends changes in policy and practice that will help meet these goals.

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  • SPUR Report

    Secrets of San Francisco

    Dozens of office buildings in San Francisco include privately owned public open spaces or “POPOS.” SPUR evaluates these spaces and lays out recommendations to improve existing POPOS and guide the development of new ones.

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Updates and Events

California Legislators Introduce New Bills as 2021 Session Kicks Off

News December 15, 2020
Last Monday, the California State Legislature convened to swear in members and introduce the first bills of the 2021-2022 legislative session. Here’s a round-up of notable bills that have already been introduced, including some key bills SPUR will be tracking.

Integrating Planning With Nature

SPUR Report December 15, 2020
Over the next century, the San Francisco Bay Area will face three major challenges: adapting to a changing climate, adding infill development to accommodate a growing population, and maintaining natural and working lands in the face of development pressure. A new report outlines how nature-based solutions can maximize community preparedness for future climate conditions while providing a wide variety of benefits to people and ecosystems.

Keeping the Lights On

SPUR Report December 1, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shelter-in-place orders have thrown businesses — and especially small businesses — into survival mode. Are there ways to help businesses so that pandemic-induced failures don’t ripple through the real estate and lending industry? In collaboration with small business owners and advocates, this fall SPUR offers ideas for addressing the rent challenges for small businesses, landlords and bankers.

SPUR Expresses Support for Redevelopment of Reid-Hillview Airport

Policy Letter November 17, 2020
As the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors continues to consider closing the Reid-Hillview Airport and repurposing the site to better meet community needs including development of affordable housing, SPUR has expressed its support for this move. The Board has adopted a Vision Statement and is reviewing options for a Vision Plan based on resident input gathered during outreach and engagement events.

SPUR Leads Coalition Calling on Cupertino to allow for Public Process on Increase in Transportation Impact Fees

Policy Letter November 17, 2020
SPUR joined with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, SV@Home and the Bay Area Council to urge the Cupertino City Council to conduct a thorough stakeholder process that includes input from the development community and undertake a feasibility analysis to study the effect on development of increased transportation impact fees. The new fee would raise transportation impacts fees by more than 40%.

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