Good Government
We believe: The public sector can and should serve the collective good.
• Improve government’s capacity to provide services and address challenges effectively.
• Support voter engagement.
Our Goals
SPUR Voter Guide
The SPUR Voter Guide
The SPUR Voter Guide helps voters understand the issues they will face in the voting booth. We focus on outcomes, not ideology, providing objective analysis on which measures will deliver real solutions.
SPUR Event
Good Government Awards
The Good Government Awards honor outstanding managers working for the City and County of San Francisco, recognizing them for their leadership, vision and ability to make a difference in city government and in the community.
SPUR Report
Back in the Black
San José has the highest median household income of any major city in the country, but years of budget cuts and staffing reductions have left the city in a precarious position. SPUR and Working Partnerships USA explore how San Jose can bolster its resources and deliver high-quality public services.
SPUR Event
SPUR Impact Awards
The Impact Awards Luncheon, honors the outstanding contributions by employees of city and county governments, public agencies and nonprofit organizations in Santa Clara County. The awards celebrate significant accomplishments in the areas of housing, transportation, placemaking and urban design, community advocacy, and sustainability and resilience.
Updates and Events
SPUR's Urban Village Comments to the General Plan Task Force
Advocacy Letter
Staff’s memo regarding the proposed modifications to the Urban Village general plan policy. SPUR has been a continuous supporter of the San Jose’s Urban Village plan as a way to create more mixed-use, higher density development throughout San Jose.
SPUR provides comments on the City of San Jose proposed extension of the downtown high-rise incentive program
Advocacy Letter
SPUR supports staff recommendation to extend the downtown high-rise incentive program until 2023. While we believe that downtown must have a large concentration of jobs to support transit, it is also important to maximize the potential of high-rise residential development downtown. This program helps ease the financial burden due to the cost of construction and land to help spur greater development in the urban core.
SPUR submits comments on Stanford's proposed 2018 General Use Permit for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors meeting on September 24, 2019.
Advocacy Letter
SPUR supports Stanford’s application to update their permit granting an extension for future campus development through 2035.
SPUR supports the City of San Jose ordinance to adopt Reach Codes for new construction city-wide
Advocacy Letter
SPUR supports the proposed ordinance to adopt city-wide reach codes as a way to further realize the Climate Smart San Jose plan. This ordinance upholds many of the principles laid out in our 2016 report, Fossil-Free Bay Area, such as increasing the energy performance of new buildings and establishing high-efficiency standards is a key strategy to reducing our carbon footprint and fossil fuel use.
SPUR Comments on the Forecast Methodology for Plan Bay Area 2050
Advocacy Letter
ABAG and MTC have worked to improve regional long-range forecasting and modeling in the Bay Area. SPUR recognizes MTC and ABAG’s thought leadership and offers additional research and process considerations as they finalize the forecast methodology for Plan Bay Area 2050.
How Has San Francisco Done on Addressing Housing and Homelessness?
News /
Just before San Francisco’s 2018 mayoral election, SPUR released San Francisco’s Next Mayor: A Blueprint for Change, a policy agenda for the city's next leader. One year later, we took a look back at the progress that Mayor Breed and the Board of Supervisors have made toward those recommendations, specifically on housing and homelessness.