SPUR Publications

Between 2013 and 2020, California will earn between $12 billion and $45 billion in cap-and-trade revenue. The state has already received hundreds of millions of dollars from auction revenues over the last 18 months, with that number poised to be in the billions annually within a few years. Now the state needs to decide: How will the money be spent?

After many months of planning, San Francisco’s new urban agriculture program launched in January. The program, designed to coordinate and increase the city’s support for city farmers and gardeners, recently released details about its first year priorities.

SPUR recently hosted a charrette to look at how we can make the region’s array of transit operators function more like one clear, understandable system. Transit operators, regional planners, transporation experts and private transportation providers gathered to share what they've learned and where the opportunities lie.

Updates on the Coastal Management Framework implementation project. An Immediate-Term Management Strategy, a package of softer management tools covering the first three storm seasons, is under review, wind blown sand management techniques have been identified and a vulnerability analysis and coastal engineering feasibility study are being prepared.

As California grapples with one of its worst droughts in recorded history, many in the Bay Area are wondering what should be done to ensure that we have sufficient water. Luckily, water agencies in our region are already leading the way on innovative approaches to reduce demand by fostering water conservation and efficiency. Here's what's working.

What's happening underneath our streets? How is our city really operating? A recent tour of the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant shed light to an important operating system of San Francisco that preserves public health and environmental quality.

Regional transit projects planned for San Jose's Diridon Station could make it one of the Bay Area’s most important transit and development hubs — if the area around it is planned well. The city has released a draft version of its Diridon Station Area Plan, which will shape the future of the area. SPUR has reviewed the plan and made a number of important recommendations.

After years of planning, the Santa Clara–Alum Rock Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project broke ground on Friday, March 21. This is the first of three BRT lines that the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is developing in the South Bay — and the first BRT line in the Bay Area, pulling ahead of planned projects in San Francisco and the East Bay.

Across California, communities have started food policy councils so that local advocates for food producers and consumers can work together to improve the food system. Earlier this year, a coalition of these groups published an analysis of legislators’ voting records on 10 different food and agriculture bills.

After a 20-year public process, a project to convert a landslide-prone portion of Highway 1 into a multi-use coastal trail is finally complete. The new Devil's Slide Trail welcomes hikers, cyclists, horse riders and dog walkers. With its similarities to erosion-damaged sections of the Great Highway, Devil's Slide offers a model for implementing some of the recommendations in SPUR’s Ocean Beach Master Plan.

SPUR’s 34th annual Good Government Awards recognized Zoon Nguyen for rolling out the San Francisco assessor-recorder’s electronic system, increasing regular assessments and helping the city issue 500 marriage licenses in one weekend after the federal court announced the resumption of same-sex marriages.

SPUR’s 34th annual Good Government Awards recognized San Francisco’s Douglas Legg for ushering in DPWStat, a tool that has improved management of construction schedules, street cleaning, building and sidewalk repairs, and graffiti removal.

SPUR’s 34th annual Good Government Awards recognized Lisa Wayne as the lead architect and visionary of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department’s Natural Areas Program.

SPUR’s 34th annual Good Government Awards recognized the City of San Francisco’s Legal Educational Advocacy Program Team for improving educational outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system and curbing the cycle of young people who go back into the system.

SPUR’s 34th annual Good Government Awards recognized San Francisco’s Fire Rim Emergency Response Team for its quick, collaborative and strategic response to the 2013 Rim Fire, the third largest wildfire in California history.

Despite the inches of rain that fell in February, California’s farmers and ranchers are still facing a severe drought. Mother Jones magazine recently published an infographic that clearly illustrates the link between the lack of rain and the state’s agricultural economy. What it conveys is that this is going to be a hard year for farmers and ranchers in California, with nationwide ripple effects.