photo of estuary at Crissy Field at sunset

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.

transect of a bayshore neighborhood with ground water beneath the soil

SPUR Report

Look Out Below

Bay Area cities planning for sea level rise need to address another emerging hazard: groundwater rise. Our case study on East Palo Alto offers recommendations applicable to other vulnerable communities along the San Francisco Bay shore.
illustration of houses plugging into the electricity grid

SPUR Report

Closing the Electrification Affordability Gap

New Bay Area regulations are ushering in a transition from polluting gas furnaces and water heaters to zero-emissions electric heat pumps. SPUR’s action plan shows how to make this transition affordable for low-income households.
photo of Ocean Beach in San Francisco

Initiative

Ocean Beach Master Plan

San Francisco's Ocean Beach faces significant challenges. SPUR led a public process to develop a comprehensive vision to address sea level rise, protect infrastructure, restore coastal ecosystems, and improve public access.
historic photo of houses damaged in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

Initiative

The Resilient City

We know that another major earthquake will strike San Francisco — we just don’t know when. SPUR's Resilient City Initiative recommends steps the city should take before, during, and after the next big quake.

Updates and Events


The Bay Plan Amendment Closes in on Consensus

News /
There’s something in it for everyone to hate and something for everyone to love, but after two years, we are optimistic: We may be very close to a consensus on how to amend the San Francisco Bay Plan with new information about climate change.

Why We Need to Start Planning for Climate Change — Now

News /
On May 4 SPUR released a major report, " Climate Change Hits Home," that lays out what the Bay Area must do to start preparing for the coming effects of climate change. This project, a multi-year effort by a team of top climate scientists and government leaders, represents a turning point for SPUR. We have long worked to stop climate change, but now we…

Climate Change Hits Home

SPUR Report
Global efforts to slow climate change by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions have largely failed. As a result we must not only intensify our efforts to reduce climate change but start preparing for its inevitable effects. In this report, SPUR recommends more than 30 strategies for local and regional agencies to begin minimizing the region’s vulnerabilities to these long-term but potentially catastrophic effects.

The Future of Ocean Beach

Urbanist Article
How will San Francisco manage Ocean Beach's tricky balance of natural resources, recreational uses and infrastructure needs under the new realities of a changing climate? SPUR leads a master-planning process to develop a long-term vision for this important resource.

Greening Apartment Buildings

SPUR Report
New green construction codes are important, but in a built-out city like San Francisco, retrofitting our existing built environment is key to creating a truly sustainable city. SPUR recommends creating a web-based tool that will educate property owners and increase awareness of the many free incentive and rebate programs currently available in San Francisco.

It Takes a Village... to Close a Power Plant

News /
The December 21, 2010 announcement that San Francisco's polluting Potrero Power Plant would shut down by the end of the year was as much a cause for celebration as it was a reason to recount the twists and turns that it took to finally shutter the city's last fossil fuel-burning commercial power plant. For many years, the preferred method of closing Potrero was to build…