Reimagining the City

Roberto Bedoya led the creation of Oakland’s cultural plan, Belonging in Oakland, framing it as a prompt that enlivens civic life, place, and belonging. In this essay, he argues that facilitating social cohesion among residents needs to be framed as a municipal goal. And cities need to invest in this goal as our social networks are changing, collapsing, and being reimagined.

SPUR invited leaders and practitioners who work in our policy areas to answer the question: “How are you thinking differently in order to reimagine your work?” Our respondents talk about the shifts in mindset and approach that have been needed as they make progress on everything from workforce training to sea level rise adaptation.

SPUR has long advocated for a robust, well-coordinated transit system as an essential part of an equitable, sustainable, and prosperous region. So, how are we reimagining the future of Bay Area transit, and our work, in a moment of uncertainty? First, we are more explicitly addressing the unknown with tools such as scenario planning. Second, we are refocusing on the aspects of the transit system over which operators and policymakers can exercise the greatest degree of control.

Fifty-five years after California passed a body of law to supply housing for people at all income levels in every jurisdiction, San Francisco still struggles with housing affordability and exhibits patterns of racial segregation. The city has begun changing exclusionary, single-family zoning patterns to favor lower-cost, multifamily buildings. SPUR is spearheading policy and advocacy work to ensure the city adopts a transformational rezoning.

Last year, the City of San José formed the GovAI Coalition, a collaborative effort to develop responsible AI policies and practices for local governments. In a short time, the coalition has grown to more than 800 members representing 300-plus local governments across the country. SPUR talked with San José City Privacy Officer Albert Gehami to learn more about the benefits of taking a collaborative approach.

Silas Amaral serves as Director of Strategy, Partnerships, and Impact at the Sunday Friends Foundation in San José, where he is launching an entrepreneurship accelerator for family businesses run by Latin and Vietnamese immigrants. A lawyer from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who changed careers when he moved to San Francisco, Silas feels a deep connection to newcomers forging their path in the Bay Area. We talked with him about the role of entrepreneurship in community transformation.

The San Francisco office of international architecture and design firm Perkins&Will has been a SPUR business member since the 1950s and is active in both SPUR’s Urban Infrastructure Council and its Planning and Architecture Council. Regional Practice Leader of Higher Education Anders Carpenter spoke to us about how the firm is thinking differently to deliver buildings that are light on environmental impact and strong on community contribution.