photo of estuary at Crissy Field at sunset

Sustainability and Resilience

We believe: The region should be environmentally just, carbon-neutral,
and resilient to climate change and earthquakes.

Our Goals

• Decarbonize buildings.

• Make the region resilient to sea level rise and other climate-driven natural disasters.

• Improve communities’ resilience to earthquakes.

transect of a bayshore neighborhood with ground water beneath the soil

SPUR Report

Look Out Below

Bay Area cities planning for sea level rise need to address another emerging hazard: groundwater rise. Our case study on East Palo Alto offers recommendations applicable to other vulnerable communities along the San Francisco Bay shore.
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illustration of houses plugging into the electricity grid

SPUR Report

Closing the Electrification Affordability Gap

New Bay Area regulations are ushering in a transition from polluting gas furnaces and water heaters to zero-emissions electric heat pumps. SPUR’s action plan shows how to make this transition affordable for low-income households.
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photo of Ocean Beach in San Francisco

Initiative

Ocean Beach Master Plan

San Francisco's Ocean Beach faces significant challenges. SPUR led a public process to develop a comprehensive vision to address sea level rise, protect infrastructure, restore coastal ecosystems, and improve public access.
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historic photo of houses damaged in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

Initiative

The Resilient City

We know that another major earthquake will strike San Francisco — we just don’t know when. SPUR's Resilient City Initiative recommends steps the city should take before, during, and after the next big quake.
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Updates and Events

Double Up Food Bucks sign in a store

Double Up Food Bucks Stood Tall in 2020

News /
SPUR's healthy food incentive program reflected the difficulties that thousands in the Bay Area faced in making ends meet during the pandemic. Double Up Food Bucks addressed the soaring demand for food assistance throughout the pandemic, and, alongside efforts by the federal government, non-profit civic engineers, and the state government, supported low-income Californians by increasing their food budgets at participating stores in Santa Clara and Alameda counties.

SPUR Encourages Budget Committees to Support Implementation of Medically-Supportive Food and Nutrition through CalAIM and Additional Produce Prescription Pilots through AB 368

Advocacy Letter
Medically-supportive food and nutrition Interventions are a way to prevent, reverse, and manage common chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. To secure the implementation of these powerful interventions, SPUR urges the budget committees to fund the food prescription pilots outlined in AB 368 and amend the budget trailer bill language to clarify and ensure easy implementation of medically-supportive food and nutrition interventions through CalAIM.

SPUR Supports AB 368, Which Would Establish Three Food Prescription Pilots

Advocacy Letter
SPUR supports Assembly Bill 368, which would establish food prescription pilots in partnership with Medi-Cal managed care plans in three California counties. The pilots will provide medically-supportive food to approximately 2,400 Medi-Cal beneficiaries who have one or more chronic health condition(s). The legislation aims to directly address racial health disparities, chronic disease, healthcare costs, and healthcare utilization among Medi-Cal beneficiaries.

SPUR Supports Google’s Downtown West's Proposal

Advocacy Letter
SPUR enthusiastically supports Google’s Downtown West's proposal to use distributed energy and recycled water systems (also known as district systems), but we also urge San José to ensure that the district systems are well-integrated with the city’s centralized systems for energy and recycled water.
Food Pharmacy Pilot at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, 2015

California Must Seize the Opportunity to Improve Health for Less

News /
Imagine if insurers paid for the prevention— not just the treatment – of severe medical conditions. What if the health care system could help people improve their health today while also preventing diabetes or reducing the risk of heart attacks tomorrow? With the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in sight, the California Department of Health Care Services is working on doing just that.
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