San Francisco began collecting a soda tax in 2018. While the tax measure didn't allocate revenue to a specific purpose, it did create a process for directing funds to the cause of better public health outcomes. SPUR took a close look at the process and how well it did at achieving the intended aims of the original measure.

Climate change is here today, and after the devastating fires of 2017 and 2018, Californians know it. In 2019, SPUR will be working on a new policy report on the multiple hazards wrought by climate change, including fires and flooding. We now know that land use, planning, building code, forest management and other recommendations may be needed to improve fire resiliency across the Bay Area.

Last month, SPUR convened national and international experts in San Jose to share best practices for planning and building world-class transit stations and active neighborhoods around stations. City officials, transit agencies and civic groups came together to develop the vision for the future Diridon Station and to consider the legacy that today's decisions will create for the project.

Housing developers in San Francisco are currently required to provide a minimum amount of parking in new buildings. What if we eliminated those requirements? Then we’d see both lowered housing prices and more efficient use of urban land. Requiring parking brings too many new cars into the city, congesting streets, taking up space needed for more housing and harming the environment.