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

San Francisco's Next Mayor

Policy Brief
By any measure, the previous decade has been a period of dramatic change and growth for San Francisco. But for many, this unprecedented prosperity has failed to address — and has even contributed to — the many challenges the city still faces. SPUR offer a platform of specific policy goals and practical solutions for the next mayor and the city for the years ahead.

It All Adds Up: The Growing Costs That Prevent New Housing in California

News /
Construction costs are a growing barrier to building new housing in California. Today, experts don’t agree on the exact reasons for California’s soaring costs, which often leads to policy fights based on ideology, not facts. A new research series from the Terner Center for Housing Innovation aims to add data to the debate. At a recent SPUR forum, panelists discussed the research to date.

SPUR Supports SB 828 In Concept

Advocacy Letter
SPUR is pleased to offer support in concept to SB 828, as of March 7, 2018. The bill addresses the processes by which the state and regional agencies allocate housing targets.

SPUR Supports SB 827 In Concept

Advocacy Letter
SPUR is pleased to offer support in concept to SB 827, as of March 7, 2018. The bill will overcome barriers to the creation of infill homes in the right places — close to major transit stops and high-frequency bus stops throughout California.

SPUR Supports AB 2923 In Concept (TOD near BART)

Advocacy Letter
SPUR is pleased to offer support in concept to AB 2923 (Chiu and Grayson), as of March 7, 2018. AB 2923 would require the BART Board to establish transit-oriented development standards for BART-owned land within a half-mile of stations.

What the Bridge Housing Pilot Can Do for All San Jose Residents

News /
With only enough shelter beds to serve 25 percent of its homeless population, San Jose continues to look for short-term housing interventions. One promising step: The San Jose Department of Housing is in the process of piloting Bridge Housing Communities, a micro community of 40 sleeping cabins and community spaces to be placed on city-owned property.
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