Take the California Budget Challenge
News /
The newly-released California Budget Challenge lets you choose your priorities for the state while attempting to balance the budget. Users decide on policy options including whether or not to raise income taxes, restructure Proposition 13, or change parole supervision for non-violent offenders. You can send your choices on to your representatives, view pro and con arguments for each choice, and see the choices other Challenge-takers…
Reinventing America's cities
News /
Nicolai Ouroussoff presents one of the most cogent arguments for reinvestment in our cities ever written in the New York Times. His vision is eco-urbanist, to use a term to describe the current era of urban planning, prevalent today after a half dozen previous eras that will be explicated brilliantly in the exhibit to mark the grand opening of SPUR's Urban Center
A Bay Area Economic Recovery Plan
News /
With so much interest in how to access the Federal stimulus funds, the Bay Area Economic Institute is organizing the region's agencies and business groups to develop a coherent regional plan for recovery. This document here is the process and timeline for how the region will come up with its strategy, all of which should be completed by June 1. Project concepts are due in…
How Does the SF Budget Compare with Other Cities?
News /
A new report from the Controller provides comparative information on how much the City and County of SF spends per capita on key services relative to other communities. While making clear that it is not advocating cuts to particular services, it provides an objective set of data points to make appropriate policy decisions. The report also provides information on how certain revenue sources have changed…
Skyscrapers are Green - Especially in California
News /
Harvard economist Ed Glaeser blogs in the New York Times about why skyscrapers are the greenist form of development - particularly in California's mild climate. In his post he makes that case that urban living and working - often in high rises - is the greenest development form. See also Glaeser's article in City Journal. This post also reinforces SPUR's argument about adding jobs near…
The Future of Downtown San Francisco
SPUR Report
How can we bring more jobs into the region's most transit-rich employment center? SPUR proposes a sustainable plan for transit-oriented job growth in the Bay Area.
Lifelines
SPUR Report
We all know the big one is coming. But are we ready? It's a question we must confront now, with boldness and with honesty: what will it take to make San Francisco a resilient city?
Building It Right the First Time
SPUR Report
We all know the big one is coming. But are we ready? It's a question we must confront now, with boldness and with honesty: what will it take to make San Francisco a resilient city?
The Dilemma of Existing Buildings
SPUR Report
We all know the big one is coming. But are we ready? It's a question we must confront now, with boldness and with honesty: what will it take to make San Francisco a resilient city?
Defining Resilience
SPUR Report
How do we decide when a structure is "safe enough”? Engineering standards define how many deaths, how many building demolitions and how long a recovery time we will have. Currently, the City of San Francisco has no adopted performance objectives for these factors. SPUR provides a new framework for improving San Francisco's seismic mitigation policies.
Secrets of San Francisco
SPUR Report
Dozens of office buildings in San Francisco include privately owned public open spaces -- or "POPOS." Some are merely provisional, while others are hidden gems.
A Mid-life Crisis for Regional Rail
SPUR Report
Building a better rail system is critical for the Bay Area. The top priority should be expanding capacity in the urban cores of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. SPUR recommends five ways to make this happen.
The Hub Concept
SPUR Report
SPUR believes that San Francisco can be a resilient city whose residents accept a significant earthquake as inevitable and are prepared to respond and sustain themselves and their communities until help arrives. Preparation for such a comprehensive emergency response must engage each individual, each community and the myriad of organizations that make up these communities. The Department of Public Health for the city of San Francisco has obtained a federal grant funding a proposal to create Community Disaster Response Hubs — field-based disaster coordination centers throughout San Francisco. The hubs can provide the infrastructure for community response to major emergencies. By identifying local resources, developing a plan to integrate and coordinate those resources with each other and with the city, and practicing communication through their hubs, communities can develop an effective response. In this report, SPUR encourages the adoption of the proposed Community Disaster Response Hub plan and offers a set of recommendations to strengthen the plan and sustain the program.
Imagining Islais Creek
SPUR Report
One of San Francisco's most important water bodies, Islais Creek comprises most of the southeastern sector of the city. Over the last decade, the area has fallen into a state of disrepair. Sara Jensen, SPUR's 2008 Piero N. Patro Fellow, proposes a concept plan for a food center to enliven this area of the city's eastern waterfront.
Growing Green
SPUR Report
The Bay Area has been a hotbed of innovation since the 1970s. Today it is also one of the leading places for cleantech firms. What role will San Francisco play in the emergence of this new segment of the economy?
The Culture of Preparedness
SPUR Report
We all know "the big one" is coming. But are we ready? It's a question we must confront now, with boldness and with honesty: what will it take to make San Francisco a resilient city?
Setting Aside Differences
SPUR Report
Set-asides allow citizens to set budget priorities, but they also limit flexibility. In this report, SPUR outlines current set-asides, analyzes their impact on public budgeting, and offers recommendations for reform.