Orange skyline of San Francisco during extreme fires of 2020

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.

computer rendering of a concrete creek channel that has been converted to public space, with a bike path, trees and people sitting on concrete steps in the creek bed,

SPUR Report

Watershed Moments

Climate scientists predict that California will experience longer, more frequent droughts as the climate warms. How can the Bay Area better manage the limited water it has? SPUR, Greenbelt Alliance and Pacific Institute teamed up to highlight six Northern California leaders who are pioneering more sustainable approaches to water use.
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City streets and buildings next to waterfront. Wooden poles stick up from the water.

SPUR Report

Water for a Growing Bay Area

The Bay Area is projected to add 2 million jobs and as many as 6.8 million people in the next 50 years. But can we add more jobs and build more housing without using more water? New research from SPUR and the Pacific Institute says yes.
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SPUR Report

Safety First: Improving Hazard Resilience in the Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area is both a treasured place and a hazardous environment where flooding, wildfires and earthquakes are common today. As a region exposed to multiple hazards, how can we manage for all of them at the same time?

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Ongoing Initiative

The Resilient City

We know that another major earthquake will strike San Francisco — we just don’t know when. Since 2008, SPUR has led a comprehensive effort to retrofit the buildings and infrastructure that sustain city life. Our Resilient City Initiative recommends steps the city should take before, during and after the next big quake.

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Black and white photo of a sink faucet running water

Article

Lessons Learned From California’s COVID-19 Water Debt Relief Program

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Legislature established the California Water and Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program to provide financial relief for unpaid water bills. But water affordability struggles won’t end with the pandemic. The state will need to build upon its first experiment with water bill assistance to weather ongoing climate change and income inequality. SPUR investigates the success of the $985 million program and looks at lessons learned.
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Ongoing Initiative

Ocean Beach Master Plan

Ocean Beach, one of San Francisco’s most treasured landscapes, faces significant challenges. Since 2010, SPUR has led an extensive interagency and public process to develop the Ocean Beach Master Plan, a comprehensive vision to address sea level rise, protect infrastructure, restore coastal ecosystems and improve public access.

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Updates and Events

Construction worker, Jake Holmgren, installs new heating system inside resident's home in South Seattle.

Smoothing the Transition to Heat Pumps, Part 3: State-Level Legislation

News /
As the Bay Area phases out sales of gas water heaters and gas furnaces, property owners will need to install zero-pollution, high-efficiency electric heat pump devices in buildings when the existing devices fail. But the current process is complicated and expensive. In this installment of our series on improving the process, we explore state-level action to mandate, incentivize, guide, and resource streamlined permitting at the local level.
Presidio Tunnel Tops Park, San Francisco

A New Regional Approach to Shoreline Resilience

News /
Bay Area jurisdictions on the shoreline are now required to develop sea level rise adaptation plans as part of a regionally coordinated approach managed by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. SPUR participated in an advisory group for the commission’s soon-to-be-adopted Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan. With the passage of California Proposition 4, local sea level rise planning efforts could soon benefit from bond funding.

Joint Statement to BCDC Urging Support for Robust Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan

Advocacy Letter
In 2023, California adopted SB 272, which requires Bay Area jurisdictions on the shoreline to develop sea level rise adaptation plans as part of a regionally coordinated approach managed by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). To launch this effort, BCDC spent the passed year working with regional stakeholders to develop the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP). The RSAP was recently opened for public comment and many local stakeholders submitted comment letters to guide the future of this document. SPUR signed this Joint Statement in partnership with dozens of environmental, climate action, and environmental justice advocates and community-based organizations to ask BCDC to uphold its leadership in this effort by maintaining the integrity of the RSAP, resisting efforts to weaken its Standards, and addressing the remaining gaps described above and detailed at greater length in previous letters during the public comment period.
Construction worker, Doug Berger, helps install energy efficient heat pumps outside resident homes.

Smoothing the Transition to Heat Pumps, Part 2: Permitting and Inspections

News /
As the Bay Area phases out sales of gas furnaces and water heaters, more and more property owners will need to install zero-pollution, high-efficiency electric heat pumps in homes. But the current process is complicated and expensive. City planners must quickly make that installation easier and more affordable. In a previous article, SPUR recommended zoning code strategies. In this installment, we explore permitting and inspection improvements.

SPUR Public Comment on BCDC's Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan

Advocacy Letter
In 2023, California adopted SB 272 which requires Bay Area jurisdictions on the shoreline to develop sea level rise adaptation plans as part of a regionally coordinated approach managed by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). To launch this effort, BCDC spent the passed year working with regional stakeholders to develop the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP). This framework seeks to guide local planning while establishing regional priorities to ensure collaborative shoreline resilience planning. SPUR has long advocated for regional planning in the face of sea level rise, and has worked in partnership with regional agencies like BCDC to advance regional priorities. As an RSAP advisory group member, SPUR contributed to the development of the RSAP by advocating for things like clearer metrics on outcomes, improved data on groundwater rise and combined flood risks, and the inclusion of impacts of flooding on shoreline contaminated sites in environmental justice communities. SPUR's public comment letter, submitted on October 18, 2024, outlines recommendations for improving both the RSAP document and the technical assistance program that BCDC is developing to support jurisdictions with planning, funding access, project prioritization, etc.

The Loma Prieta Earthquake Inspired Major Resilience Efforts. Today, the Need to Invest Continues.

News /
35 years ago this week, the Loma Prieta earthquake was a wakeup call the Bay Area heeded. In the years since the magnitude 6.9 quake hit, state, regional, and municipal action has improved the seismic safety of the region’s buildings and other infrastructure. However, gaps remain in the region’s preparedness for the estimated 51% chance of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in the next 30 years.
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