Model Places Illustration

Housing

We Believe: Housing is a human right and should be affordable to everyone.

Our Goals

• Increase the supply of housing.

• Provide more affordable housing for low- and middle-income residents.

• Protect low-income communities of color from displacement.

Monte Vista Gardens apartments in San José

SPUR Report

Structured for Success

A key cause of California’s high housing costs is its decentralized and fragmented housing governance system. SPUR makes 11 recommendations to set California and the Bay Area on the path to produce the housing we need.
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photo of balconies on an apartment building

Research

Losing Ground

SPUR examines how the Bay Area’s housing market has become shaped by scarcity and wide economic divides — not only among income groups but also among races and ethnicities.
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Apartment Building

Research

Housing the Middle

SPUR digs into the housing market’s failure to meet the needs of middle-income households. California can look to innovative programs across the country as models for how to address the state’s housing challenges.
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Apartment Construction

Research

Planning by Ballot

SPUR has created the most up-to-date database of local land use ballot measures that impact housing production in California. Over the long term, measures that restrict infill housing can undermine housing affordability and have the potential to exacerbate racial segregation.
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Updates and Events

SPUR Calls for Clarification of Emergency Rule No. 9 and Its Impact on Housing Development

Advocacy Letter
SPUR calls on Honorable Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye and members of the Judicial Council to clarify that Emergency Rule No. 9 does not change the statutes of limitations for CEQA and land use claims. Unless it is amended, this rule will impose a hold on housing developments that are desperately needed to address California’s housing crisis – a crisis that is intensified by the COVID-19 emergency.

SPUR Urges California Congressional Delegation to Support Affordable Housing

Advocacy Letter
SPUR joined NPH, All Home and more than 100 other organizations in calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the California Congressional Delegation to implement rental/debt relief for households unable to pay for housing as a result of COVID-19 and to designate affordable housing as essential infrastructure in any future stimulus packages.

SPUR Supports Discounted Land Prices for Affordable Housing Projects on BART Property

Advocacy Letter
SPUR supports proposed amendments to BART's transit-oriented development policy that would offer land discounts to projects that provide affordable homes. These amendments are practical tools that will help produce affordable housing at BART station areas. Transit-oriented development that includes both market-rate and affordable housing is critical in the effort to build a sustainable and equitable region.

SPUR Supports Allowing More Housing Construction to Proceed Under the New Shelter-In-Place Order

Advocacy Letter
In coalition with local chambers of commerce, business associations, trades councils and housing advocates, SPUR signed onto a letter urging the seven Bay Area county public health officers to modify the next shelter-in-place order with regard to housing construction. The coalition advocated for allowing a wider range of projects to continue, noting that these projects often pay fees or dedicate land for affordable housing.

Bay Area COVID-19 Housing Resources

News /
Homebuilders, residents, housing advocates, city staff and elected officials across the Bay Area are working to understand the fluid and challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place orders. SPUR and partner groups have created a database of up-to-date information and resources about finding and staying in housing, planning, construction and more.
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