Orange skyline of San Francisco during extreme fires of 2020

Sustainability and Resilience

We believe: The region should be environmentally just, carbon-neutral,
and resilient to climate change and earthquakes.

Our Goals

• Decarbonize buildings.

• Make the region resilient to sea level rise and other climate-driven natural disasters.

• Improve communities’ resilience to earthquakes.

computer rendering of a concrete creek channel that has been converted to public space, with a bike path, trees and people sitting on concrete steps in the creek bed,

SPUR Report

Watershed Moments

Climate scientists predict that California will experience longer, more frequent droughts as the climate warms. How can the Bay Area better manage the limited water it has? SPUR, Greenbelt Alliance and Pacific Institute teamed up to highlight six Northern California leaders who are pioneering more sustainable approaches to water use.
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City streets and buildings next to waterfront. Wooden poles stick up from the water.

SPUR Report

Water for a Growing Bay Area

The Bay Area is projected to add 2 million jobs and as many as 6.8 million people in the next 50 years. But can we add more jobs and build more housing without using more water? New research from SPUR and the Pacific Institute says yes.
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SPUR Report

Safety First: Improving Hazard Resilience in the Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area is both a treasured place and a hazardous environment where flooding, wildfires and earthquakes are common today. As a region exposed to multiple hazards, how can we manage for all of them at the same time?

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Ongoing Initiative

The Resilient City

We know that another major earthquake will strike San Francisco — we just don’t know when. Since 2008, SPUR has led a comprehensive effort to retrofit the buildings and infrastructure that sustain city life. Our Resilient City Initiative recommends steps the city should take before, during and after the next big quake.

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Black and white photo of a sink faucet running water

Article

Lessons Learned From California’s COVID-19 Water Debt Relief Program

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Legislature established the California Water and Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program to provide financial relief for unpaid water bills. But water affordability struggles won’t end with the pandemic. The state will need to build upon its first experiment with water bill assistance to weather ongoing climate change and income inequality. SPUR investigates the success of the $985 million program and looks at lessons learned.
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Ongoing Initiative

Ocean Beach Master Plan

Ocean Beach, one of San Francisco’s most treasured landscapes, faces significant challenges. Since 2010, SPUR has led an extensive interagency and public process to develop the Ocean Beach Master Plan, a comprehensive vision to address sea level rise, protect infrastructure, restore coastal ecosystems and improve public access.

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Updates and Events

Sarah Atkinson Headshot

The Climate Threat Beneath Our Feet and What Policymakers Can Do About It: Q&A With Sarah Atkinson

News /
Bay Area residents are keenly aware of the threat of sea level rise as the planet warms — but most of us know far less about the impacts of groundwater rise. In the Bay Area, those impacts will be felt long before sea level rise causes overland flooding. That’s one of the takeaways of a new SPUR case study that examines how one Bay Area community, East Palo Alto, would likely be affected in the absence of adaptation efforts.
Report cover with abstract illustration of groundwater rising up toward underground pipes and the buildings above ground

Look Out Below

SPUR Report
Bay Area cities planning for sea level rise need to address another emerging hazard: groundwater rise. SPUR partnered with community-based organization Nuestra Casa to investigate how rising groundwater is likely to affect one Bay Area city: East Palo Alto. Our case study explains specific risks and offers five recommendations — all applicable to other vulnerable communities along the San Francisco Bay shore.

SPUR Supports Becker's Senate Bill 382 on Single-Family Residential Property Energy Systems Disclosures

Advocacy Letter
SPUR joined s a support letter on Senate Bill 382 which would require a the seller of single-family residential properties to disclose information related to electrical systems of the property, and to disclose the existence of any state or local requirements relating to the future replacement of existing gas-powered appliances installed at the property. The bill will help prospective buyers seek safe and healthy living conditions, and learn about existing electrical systems so that they can make informed purchases.
Eli, Katie, and Grecia standing in front of a brick wall

Introducing Fullwell: SPUR’s Food and Agriculture Program Launches as a New Organization

News /
This month, SPUR’s Food and Agriculture policy program starts a new chapter as an independent organization. Staff members Eli Zigas, Katie Ettman, and Grecia Marquez-Nieblas are leaving SPUR to launch Fullwell, a nonprofit public policy group working to put an end to food insecurity and create a healthy, just, and sustainable food system. As we wish them well, we take a look back on the program’s successes over its 13 years at SPUR.
Blue report cover with title and subtitle in white text

Solving the Panel Puzzle

Policy Brief
Switching home energy uses from fossil fuels to electricity will improve air quality and meet state climate goals. But California’s plan to decarbonize its buildings is getting bogged down by the complexities and costs of electric panel and service upgrades. SPUR suggests three strategies and 17 recommendations to overcome these barriers. By adopting policy changes, California can facilitate the transition to a climate-friendly, climate-ready built environment and serve as a model for other states.
First page of toolbox

Fossil-Free Heat

Policy Brief
In an effort to improve air quality, Bay Area regulators have passed regulations to phase out the sale of gas heating in buildings. SPUR and our partners in the Bay Area Clean Air coalition created this toolbox to enable policymakers and advocacy groups to identify strategies and action that will support the transition to zero-pollution, both in the Bay Area and in other jurisdictions seeking to move away from gas heating.
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