Photo of Muni bus driving down Geary in SF

Taking Muni's Vitals

Data show the agency performs well compared with peers across the country

Illustration of a crane stacking cargo containers that say "sound fiscal policy," "structural change" and "economic growth"

Balancing Oakland's Budget

Closing the city’s structural deficit to move toward fiscal solvency and economic growth

photo looking down San Francisco's Market Street toward downtown

Reinventing Downtown

A new model to revitalize San Francisco’s urban center

photo of San Francisco with orange skies from wildfire smoke in September 2020

Shared Risk, Shared Resilience

New governance structures for community wildfire resilience

Building storefronts in downtown San Jose

Getting In on the Ground Floor

Activation strategies for downtown San José

photo of San Francisco City Hall with a construction crane in the foreground

Charter for Change

Empowering San Francisco’s government through charter reform

Retrofitting for Resilience: Q&A with Sarah Atkinson

News / April 15, 2026

120 years after the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, the city is still grappling with the safety of buildings constructed before modern seismic safety codes. These older buildings are integral to the city’s identity and economy, but without proactive retrofitting, they pose significant risks to public safety and economic stability in the event of a major earthquake. We talked to SPUR’s Sarah Atkinson about her latest policy brief, which outlines the city’s current seismic safety efforts and vulnerabilities.

Photo of a construction crane next to a new apartment building

SPUR Sponsors State Bills to Reduce Housing Construction Time and Cost

News / April 15, 2026

SPUR is sponsoring or supporting more than a dozen state bills to reduce housing construction costs and timelines in California. Among them are proposals to enhance affordable homeownership opportunities through condominium construction financing, promote housing construction innovation through factory-built methods, improve development fees transparency, and streamline existing housing approvals.

Green report cover with title in white text

120 Years After 1906

Policy Brief / April 9, 2026

San Francisco’s long-term resilience is constrained by the safety of its existing buildings. While the city has made meaningful progress, thousands of seismically vulnerable buildings remain. Given the cost and complexity of retrofits, the next phase of seismic policy must align earthquake resilience with priorities to revitalize downtown and meet climate goals. On the 120th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, this brief assesses how far the city has come in strengthening its buildings and identifies where risks remain.

Photo of 2060 Folsom Street, an affordable housing development in San Francisco

City-Imposed Costs on Housing Can Undermine the Public Benefits They Were Meant to Deliver

News / April 6, 2026

San Francisco requires developers of market-rate housing to provide affordable units and pay impact fees to deliver public benefits. Along with rising interest rates and construction costs, these city-imposed costs can threaten whether any new housing gets built at all. As San Francisco reviews its housing policy, it should analyze the effect that all development costs have on housing production and recalibrate its approach to public benefits.

When FEMA Steps Back, Who Pays for San Francisco’s Next Disaster?

News / March 30, 2026

Over the last year, the Trump administration has sought to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency and shift the bill for emergencies to local and state governments. Facing a major budget deficit tied to the city’s last major emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic, San Francisco must pursue new disaster management strategies, in coordination with regional and state partners, to ensure financial resilience in the face of future disasters.