Let’s Not Miss the Boat on What the America’s Cup Could do for San Francisco
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When it comes to global sporting events, almost as intense as the competition between star athletes is the competition between cities to play host. That’s because hosting a major international sporting event presents a unique opportunity for a city to redefine its development goals, stimulate investment and boost tourism. Just last month it was decided that San Francisco would host the 34 th America’s Cup…
SPUR POPOS Guide Now in Google Maps!
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Update: our POPOS guide is now available as an iPhone app, too! A year and a half ago SPUR revealed some of San Francisco's best kept secrets: a rich network of privately owned public open spaces (POPOS) scattered throughout the city's downtown urban area. These are great spots around downtown to eat lunch, hold an informal meeting, or simply soak up some nature…
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
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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…
Re-thinking Redevelopment
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Our new governor is proposing to eliminate redevelopment in California. Yesterday, SPUR's executive director, Gabriel Metcalf, weighed in on the debate with an opinion piece in the Chronicle, arguing that we should reform, rather than eliminate, redevelopment.
January 15th Public Open House material
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In case you missed our January 15th workshop, or want a closer look at the content, here are the materials that were presented for public feedback. It's a large file (~25M) showing all the boards. We will be posting the individual boards shortly. The project team is working hard to transcribe all the feedback and ideas we received check back soon to review it…
SF Muni Buses Become Canvases for Mobile Public Art
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[Photo Credit: flickr user Todd Gilens] After the interminable wait for a San Francisco Muni bus, its eventual arrival is a cause for celebration and relief. And for the next three months, it could also prove to be a rare treat if your route happens to feature one of the four city buses serving as vehicles for a public art project from local artist…
Join us for a public workshop and open house
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Saturday, Jan 15th, 2011 9am-2pm (open house -- you may come for any portion) The Great Hall, SF Zoo Education Center, 1 Zoo Road (at Sloat Blvd) ( Map) SPUR (San Francisco Planning + Urban Research Association), along with the National Park Service, California State Coastal Conservancy, and SF Public Utilities Commission, is leading a new long-range planning effort for Ocean Beach. Please join…
Beyond the Tracks
SPUR Report
For the 26 California cities designated as future high-speed rail stops, the new statewide system presents a once-in-a-century opportunity to reshape their local economies and set the course for more compact, less automobile-dependent growth. Beyond the Tracks identifies specific land-use planning strategies that will contribute to the success of high-speed rail and help cities, and ultimately California, realize the full potential of the multi-billion-dollar system.
Civic Labs
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As part of their Technology Horizons Program the Institute for the Future just released “A Planet of Civic Laboratories: The Future of Cities, Information, and Inclusion.” This study takes some of the most significant trends in technology and forecasts the potential social applications in urban environments. It’s fascinating. Here were a few highlights: -Facing budget deficits, city governments will increasingly turn to crowdsourcing as…
California's Groundbreaking Green Building Ordinance
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The LEED Silver San Francisco Federal Building set a standard for green construction in the city [Photo Credit: flickr user Oldvidhead] Green building regulations are nothing new. For over a decade, cities have taken the lead in the adoption of green building standards. States have been slower to follow suit, but at present 35 states have adopted green building ordinances that either outline policies…
Bay Area Visionary, Richard Goldman, Dies at 90
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Last week the Bay Area lost one of its most generous and influential environmental leaders. Richard Goldman, co-founder of the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, died at home on November 29. Through their family foundation, Richard and his wife Rhoda have given away hundreds of millions of dollars to a variety of arts and environmental initiatives. The Goldmans are perhaps best known for the…
Are Smaller Homes Here to Stay?
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[Photo Credit: flickr user Dean Terry] The post-recession trend toward smaller homes in suburban communities has grown over the past few years – and as the economy continues to lag, it’s likely these more modest homes will only rise in popularity. It remains unclear, however, if Americans have really begun to reevaluate the excesses of 6.5 bathrooms and a “celebrity-style media and screening room,”…
Planning the future of Ocean Beach
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Ocean Beach is one of the gems of the San Francisco landscape, drawing more than 2 million visitors each year. It is an important piece of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, a wild landscape, an urban sea strand, a grand public open space. Ocean Beach is also home to major elements of San Francisco’s wastewater and stormwater infrastructure. The recent erosion events South of…
How to Improve the Bay Plan's Guidelines for Sea Level Rise
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Over the last two years, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) has been working to amend its guidance document, the Bay Plan, to include new policies related to climate change and sea level rise.
SPUR Tours Recycle Central
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Just because you can recycle it, doesn't mean you should be using it San Francisco is successful at many things, but there is one place where we shine above all other cities in the country – our recycling and compost programs. San Francisco was the first major city in the U.S. to implement a citywide curbside composting program open to all residents and businesses. Almost…
DIY Urbanism: An Interview with PlantSF Founder Jane Martin
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This fall SPUR has featured the projects of local "Do-It-Yourself" urbanists in DIY Urbanism: testing the grounds for social change. In lean economic times, individuals have become the driving force behind some of the most successful initiatives to make San Francisco a better city, often providing the crucial impetus to address problems on a larger scale. SPUR spoke with Jane Martin, whose image as…