What do we mean when we say a home, a street or a city is “accessible”? It’s more than a measure of the physical characteristics of the built environment, and it impacts a person’s overall sense of freedom and representation. At a recent SPUR forum, panelists discussed what architects, designers, planners and citizens can do to increase access in our cities.

San Jose leads the nation in electric vehicle purchases. In the quickly evolving landscape of electric vehicle ownership, charging technology and future demand, what is the right level of charging service to provide in commercial buildings and multifamily housing? To discuss this challenge, and the market opportunity, SPUR recently brought together real estate developers with experts from PG&E, the City of San Jose and Tesla.

Creating a great user experience at the redeveloped Diridon Station will be critical to whether people embrace the station and use transit. If Diridon’s transit services are going to compete with the automobile — or the next big transportation technology — the partners developing the station will need to focus on the user as the primary driver in their planning efforts.

Among the most inspiring outcomes of the Global Climate Action Summit, hosted in San Francisco earlier this month, were the climate commitments made by governments and organizations around the world. Bay Area cities and agencies announced ambitious new goals that will wean the region off of natural gas and diesel and make way for a carbon-free future.

Clipper, the Bay Area’s transit fare payment system, is getting an upgrade and moving to a new technology platform, Clipper 2.0. If it happens before the big move, downsizing and streamlining fare policies between the region's 27 transit operators could save millions, make transit more affordable and increase ridership.