SPUR Publications

New mixed-use areas raise parking congestion issues. Instead, SPUR recommends transit improvements, wider sidewalks, bike lanes, and supports plans for the Central Subway.

SPUR recommends several organizational changes for Muni, including the creation of a Multimodal Planning and Project Development Department to oversee all transit and consolidate Muni and DPT.

While condominium conversion is one way of expanding home ownership, it frequently results in tenant displacement. SPUR analyzes how to promote homeownership while mitigating the negative consequences.

San Francisco's planning and building process is in trouble. Funding for the Planning Department and Department of Building Inspection has been cut. Staff morale is down. The Planning Commission is overwhelmed with fights around specific proposals and doesn't have time to work on true long-range planning. SPUR recommends steps to reform the city's planning functions.

Though businesses weigh benefits beyond tax rates when choosing a location, there is a point where types and rates of taxes do matter. This report compares the varying business taxes and their extents.

Proposition A has played a decisive role in expanding the production of affordable housing in San Francisco. SPUR analyzes the success of the measure and describes how it should be expanded.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on addressing the symptoms of homelessness in San Francisco each year. Supporting social services that focus on the causes of homelessness may provide a better solution.

This paper explores the potential to revitalize the Mid-Market Area -- a stretch of Market Street between the downtown commercial/office core and Civic Center.

SPUR makes four recommendations to expand the successful transit impact development fee.

SPUR suggests using the City's building and planning code as instruments to allow, encourage and, in some cases, require the use of green building techniques in private sector development.

Following the success of Proposition E, SPUR calls on the SFMTA to expand transit through programs to for obtaining funding and building infrastructure.

This report suggests several ways that the approval process can be reformed in order to add certainty and reduce the time it takes to obtain project approval.

The answers to SOMA's problems can be found simply by looking at what makes our downtown successful: small block sizes, mixed land uses, housing, transit and better parking management.

This report concludes that San Francisco is well positioned for continuing economic success, and that the benefits of projected economic growth can be shared among workers at all income levels. The report describes the effects of the city and region's hugely successful economic evolution on land use, housing and transportation, and identifies illconceived public policy, and insufficient investment in housing and transportation as the most significant challenges to continued economic prosperity. San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) recommendations for increasing the city's housing stock and improving transportation are related to the needs of the city's economy.

The outlook for San Francisco's parks is much brighter after the successful passage of Propositions A and C in the March 2000 election. SPUR makes recommendations to the Recreation and Parks Commission to fully implement the measures.

With the new agency and leadership in place, SPUR recommends priority reforms in service planning, transit-first, labor-management relations, service standards, new revenues and land use coordination.

SPUR’s call for a high-speed rail system addresses seven basic questions, from technology to station locations, route alignment and funding.

San Francisco grew up around the pedestrian and trolley. To grow on that good foundation, we advocate an approach blending the needs of pedestrians, transit users, bicyclists, auto drivers and the movement of goods.

This report is the fourth in a series of SPUR reports on ways to increase the supply of housing in the San Francisco. The others are: "The Central Waterfront – One SPUR Answer to San Francisco's Housing Crisis" (March, 1998, Report 361); "Zoning for More Housing – Proposed Changes to San Francisco 's Planning Code and Zoning Map" (April, 1998 Report 362); and "Reducing Housing…

Funding Section of the Community Parks Task Force The Funding Committee investigated sources of additional funds for San Francisco Recreation and Park Department (R&P) in both the public and private spheres. Its aim was to find promising ideas to build both the annual operating budget and the longer-term capital budget for the department. The recommendations fall into four categories: 1. Department Initiatives: Operating…