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

The Chicago Central Area Plan

Urbanist Article
For the past 100 years, when planners spoke of “the Chicago Plan,” chances are they had in mind the Burnham Plan of 1909. Well, today there is another plan of note: The Chicago Central Area Plan of 2003.

From Railyard to Neighborhood: The Rise of Mission Bay

Urbanist Article
Six years ago Mission Bay was home to a trailer park and the sprawling half-empty Port of San Francisco Maintenance Facility. The bridges linking the empty lots to the north to the empty lots to the south were seismic hazards. Today this 300-acre former railyard is being converted into a new UCSF campus, 6,000 homes and millions of square feet of commercial space.

The Greening of Mission Bay

Urbanist Article
The chance to build Mission Bay with sustainable buildings is a rare opportunity, but some developers are missing out. This article discusses the greener features of the redevelopment plan.

More Than a Plan, Less Than a Place

Urbanist Article
A review of architecture and urban design at Mission Bay reveals that its projects have attracted good architects and landscape architects, but the results so far are generally less than stellar.

Measure 37 Passes

Urbanist Article
The article describes a new planning law in Oregon that reduces prior land use planning rules and gives more power to property rights and argues a similar measure is unlikely to pass in California.

Parking and Livability in Downtown San Francisco

SPUR Report
New mixed-use areas raise parking congestion issues. Instead, SPUR recommends transit improvements, wider sidewalks, bike lanes, and supports plans for the Central Subway.
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