SPUR Planning Policy Area

Planning

We believe: Growth can be good and should be directed to areas
that will support equitable development and sustainability.

Our Goals

• Leverage growth to create great neighborhoods and public spaces.

• Protect and expand open space.

• Concentrate new jobs and housing in downtowns and near major transit hubs.

• Grow up, not out.

Photo of a locally owned bakery storefront in downtown San Francisco

Policy Brief

Small and Mighty

San Francisco’s small businesses face complex regulations, rising costs, and slow economic recovery after the pandemic. SPUR identifies seven interventions to support the city's small business sector.
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Photo of high rise buildings in downtown San Francisco

SPUR Report

From Workspace to Homebase

Converting empty offices into apartments could both reanimate downtown San Francisco and provide housing for more people near transit, jobs, and culture. SPUR explores the suitability of converting office buildings to housing and tests the financial feasibility.
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illustration of a mixed-used downtown with offices, restaurants, childcare, retail, greenspace and transit

Urbanist Article

What If We Get Downtown Right?

SPUR asked community leaders: “What would it look like if cities were to get downtown right?” We invited them to picture a future in which today’s ideas and policy proposals for downtown revitalization are put into place ... and they work.
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photo of a pedestrian bridge and tree cover over the Guadalupe River

Virtual Exhibition

Re-Envisioning the Guadalupe River Park

The Guadalupe River Park is downtown San José’s most important urban green space, but it faces serious challenges. SPUR's virtual exhibition celebrates the promise of the river park and brings together three years of research and conversation about its future.
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Updates and Events

Music, Dancing, Urbanists at 2009 PARK(ing) Day

News /
Last Friday, we teamed up with the San Francisco Great Streets Project and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition to participate in 2009 PARK(ing) Day, an event-cum-social movement started by Rebar in 2005. Before the big day, architect and SFBC volunteer Riyad Ghannam spent countless hours in the Urban Center's basement designing and building wooden platforms to create a seamless transition between the sidewalk and…

NY Times Columnist Allison Arieff Blogs about P2P (and Land-Lending in a Soft Economy)

News /
New York Times columnist Allison Arieff penned a piece yesterday on the temporary parks and open spaces sprouting up in San Francisco and New York City--and the opportunity for land owners (in this soft economy) to lend their empty lots to grassroots greeners. This image, from Arieff's column, shows the site of one of San Francisco's newest temporary plaza at the intersection of…

Job Sprawl in the Megaregion

Urbanist Article
Job decentralization has expanded the boundaries of our megaregion — increasing commute times and greenhouse gas emissions in Northern California. We propose a framework for developing strategies to drive jobs back into centers already served by regional transit.

Megaregions and America’s Economic Recovery

Urbanist Article
How the nation emerges from this recession in terms of the structure of its economy, infrastructure, energy supply, and approach to the natural environment will determine our ability to compete and prosper in the 21st century.

The Future of the Bay Delta

Urbanist Article
Planning efforts to address the Delta’s complex ecosystem and water supply crisis may also greatly enhance the Delta’s open space values.
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