SPUR Publications

Shelter in place has made it starkly evident just how much space cities allocate to cars and parking. The City of San José is currently considering changes to the amount of parking it requires of new development. All of this makes it a good time to unpack the many ways that parking impacts neighborhoods and quality of life.

The mayors of the region should follow Oakland’s lead and close some streets to through traffic to create space for walking and biking. By making it safer for us to be outside in a socially distant way, “slow streets” help us combat another public health crisis: chronic diseases caused by inactivity. They also equalize the opportunity to be outside for communities that lack open space.

Homebuilders, residents, housing advocates, city staff and elected officials across the Bay Area are working to understand the fluid and challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place orders. SPUR and partner groups have created a database of up-to-date information and resources about finding and staying in housing, planning, construction and more.

Writing in The New York Times, SPUR's Allison Arieff reflects on the opportunity COVID-19 presents to fix our cities: "Ultimately, what we really need to figure out is how the world gets put back together. Our new COVID-19 reality shows that behavior can change. It is also, however, making it glaringly apparent how poorly existing systems (and places) have been working for most."

The COVID pandemic has highlighted a fundamental truth: Housing insecurity is a threat to our society — both at the height of the market and during crises like this one. By understanding what caused Bay Area housing prices to escalate over the past decade, and how that changed who can and can’t afford to live here, the region can make a course correction.

Only a couple of weeks into shelter-in-place orders, COVID-19's impact on the economy is crashing down on us. To keep food flowing and avoid historic levels of hunger, SPUR recommends 14 steps that policymakers at the local, state and federal level can, and should, take immediately.

Congress is considering an almost two trillion dollar relief package to help those impacted by COVID-19 and jumpstart the economy. As part of this stimulus package, the Trump Administration is considering a multi-billion dollar bailout for Big Oil and Big Coal. Instead, Congress should use this stimulus to lay the foundations for shared economic prosperity founded in a clean and restorative economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic is teaching us something extraordinarily important: We are part of a collective whole and our individual actions determine the health of that whole. This is an opportunity to develop our understanding of our interdependence and exercise our collective action muscle. To do this effectively, there are practices we can put in place right now, even before we begin post-pandemic rebuilding.

The 2020 SPUR Impact Awards recognize outstanding job performance by public sector leaders in Santa Clara County. This year’s ceremony recognized Senator Jim Beall for his three decades of public service during which he worked on legislation to address some of California's toughest issues, including transportation infrastructure and affordable housing.

The 2020 SPUR Impact Awards recognize outstanding job performance by public sector leaders in Santa Clara County. This year’s ceremony recognized Ed Solis for his work expands the Viva CalleSJ Open Streets Program; he utilizes the city's largest public space--the streets--to bring communities together.

The 2020 SPUR Impact Awards recognize outstanding job performance by public sector leaders in Santa Clara County. This year’s ceremony recognized Rebecca Garcia for her leadership on issues of affordable housing and homelessness for the City of Morgan Hill. Ms. Garcia built cross-sector partnerships to develop unique solutions to the full spectrum of housing needs.

The 2020 SPUR Impact Awards recognize outstanding job performance by public sector leaders in Santa Clara County. This year's ceremony recognized San Jose State University's CommUniverCity team. CommUniverCity is a multi-sector partnership between SJSU, the City of San José and local residents to support community-based planning and advocacy.

The 2020 SPUR Impact Awards recognize outstanding job performance by public sector leaders in Santa Clara County. The 2020 SPUR Impact Awards recognize outstanding job performance by public sector leaders in Santa Clara County. This year’s ceremony recognized the City of San José’s Building Reach Code team that developed new building requirements to advance the city’s climate action plan and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Thanks to COVID-19, life in the Bay Area is very different than it was only a week ago. Our cities have a lot to learn from the current situation, and a lot to teach as well. The following are some lessons that we at SPUR are taking from the pandemic, which we hope will help guide future thinking and policymaking.

California is long overdue for a world-class transportation system that can support a growing economy, help expand economic opportunity to long-underserved areas of the state and support our ambitious carbon reduction priorities. The high-speed rail network currently under construction in the Central Valley can deliver on those bold objectives, but we must remain committed to fully funding its completion.

As the coronavirus continues to make headlines, SPUR is keeping members and event attendees updated and informed on the precautions we are taking in response to the recent outbreak.

The 2020 San Francisco Good Government Awards, held on March 4, recognized outstanding job performance by those serving the City and County of San Francisco. This year’s ceremony recognized the Goal to Roll team, a multi-year, cross-division initiative that, as of June 2019, eliminated the City’s property tax assessment backlog for the first time in over twenty-five years.

The 2020 San Francisco Good Government Awards, held on March 4, recognized outstanding job performance by those serving the City and County of San Francisco. This year's ceremony recognized the CalFresh Expansion team, a cross-departmental effort to ensure increased access to nutrition benefits for more than 40,000 seniors and persons with disabilities.