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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
After many months of planning, San Francisco’s new urban agriculture program launched in January. The program, designed to coordinate and increase the city’s support for city farmers and gardeners, recently released details about its first year priorities.
As California grapples with one of its worst droughts in recorded history, many in the Bay Area are wondering what should be done to ensure that we have sufficient water. Luckily, water agencies in our region are already leading the way on innovative approaches to reduce demand by fostering water conservation and efficiency. Here's what's working.
Dozens of efforts are underway in the Bay Area to assess vulnerability to sea level rise, map critical infrastructure, plan to reduce emissions, restore wetlands and work across local government functions to knit together a plan of action. Here are just a few of the many of these efforts that stand out.
Climate change is not just a problem of the distant future — it's happening now. Our task, then, is contradictory: We need to fight it even as we to learn to live with it. But can we act decisively enough to avert catastrophe?
The San Francisco Public Utilties Commission has proposed a four-year rate structure that would finance three critical priorities for San Francisco and the Bay Area: the completion of the Water System Improvement Program, the beginning stages of the Sewer System Improvement Program, and maintenance and repair costs for current operations. SPUR supports the new structure, which would begin in July 2014.
Across California, communities have started food policy councils so that local advocates for food producers and consumers can work together to improve the food system. Earlier this year, a coalition of these groups published an analysis of legislators’ voting records on 10 different food and agriculture bills.