With new construction heating up in Oakland, local groups are asking developers to pay for “community benefits” beyond what the city requires. But as Uber backs away from its plans for downtown, Oaklanders should beware that pushing too hard may lose the city the most important community benefit of all: the long-term increase in tax rolls that the city desperately needs.

The popularity of Santana Row reflects a renewed interest in urban places — and places that feel urban. As midcentury shopping malls fail across the country, many are being transformed into “lifestyle centers" that integrate entertainment, dining, public spaces and even housing. At a recent SPUR forum, UC Berkeley's Chris Calott explored the origins — and future — of Santana Row and other lifestyle centers.

How do you keep people moving and avoid gridlock in a city that’s poised to add 190,000 jobs and 100,000 households over the next 25 years? For San Francisco, solving this problem is not a thought experiment — it’s reality. To address this issue, the city is enlisting developers in making sure their new projects don’t add up to thousands more car trips.

How much affordable housing should San Francisco require market-rate developers to build? A new study offers recommendations, and city supervisors will soon vote on a permanent requirement. The question they’ll face next is whether to stand by recommendations grounded in technical analysis or yield to political pressures to approve a higher requirement that sounds good but could backfire.