SPUR Publications

A bill that would have authorized the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to place a regional transportation revenue measure on the ballot in 2026 has been paused, bringing the prospect of severe transit cuts ever closer. SPUR supports a recently announced effort by MTC to identify a path to a new bill that would be introduced in the 2025 legislative session.

Bay Area residents are keenly aware of the threat of sea level rise as the planet warms — but most of us know far less about the impacts of groundwater rise. In the Bay Area, those impacts will be felt long before sea level rise causes overland flooding. That’s one of the takeaways of a new SPUR case study that examines how one Bay Area community, East Palo Alto, would likely be affected in the absence of adaptation efforts. We spoke with author Sarah Atkinson about her findings.

The rise of remote work and other economic changes have exposed vulnerabilities in San Francisco’s business tax structure. The city’s controller and treasurer have studied potential tax reform recommendations for a possible November 2024 ballot measure. Their proposal aims to increase the city’s economic resilience, create more transparency for taxpayers, and help struggling small businesses.

Traversing city streets on foot or by bike can be a hair-raising experience. Ten years ago, San Francisco launched Vision Zero to take the scary out and put the convenience in when it comes to moving around without a car. Since then, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has made streets a more welcoming place, but challenges remain. We asked SFMTA Board Chair Amanda Eaken about changes she’d like to see and how residents can more effectively advocate for safer streets.

This month, SPUR’s Food and Agriculture policy program starts a new chapter as an independent organization. Staff members Eli Zigas, Katie Ettman, and Grecia Marquez-Nieblas are leaving SPUR to launch Fullwell, a nonprofit public policy group working to put an end to food insecurity and create a healthy, just, and sustainable food system. As we wish them well, we take a look back on the program’s successes over its 13 years at SPUR.

Ten years ago, SPUR offered six big ideas to make downtown San José a more welcoming, vibrant, and pedestrian-friendly space and to strengthen the city’s presence on the regional stage. Those ideas have currency today, as post-pandemic shifts affect foot traffic and activity downtown. This spring, SPUR convened a workshop focused on implementation priorities for the urban core’s revitalization and surfaced questions for future policy research.

This month, 12 years after SPUR's regional expansion, the organization ushered in a new board governance structure. Our smaller, 30-member Board of Directors will provide fiduciary and strategic leadership to the organization in partnership with our three City Advisory Boards, which will support SPUR’s local research and advocacy efforts. These new appointees bring extensive knowledge in planning, housing, transportation, good government, economics, and sustainability and resilience.

SPUR is co-sponsoring a number of state bills this year and lending advocacy support to many more. Our focus this legislative session is on designing safer streets and addressing California’s housing affordability and availability crisis. Here’s a look at the legislation we’re sponsoring.

The Bay Area is already facing a housing crisis: Housing is unaffordable for low- and middle-income residents, development is not keeping up with demand, and in 2022 more than 30,000 people were unhoused. If a major earthquake were to hit the region, thousands of housing units could be lost, deepening the crisis. A recent event hosted by SPUR, the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute highlighted the region’s earthquake-related displacement risks and opportunities to reduce them.

SPUR has been appointed to serve on a statewide task force that will support the state’s many transit agencies to grow ridership, improve service, and address operational challenges. The effort represents California’s best opportunity to rethink transit policy in decades. As the state looks to lean heavily on transit to meet its ambitious climate commitments, it must figure out how to create a system both bigger and much more heavily used than today’s.

SPUR’s first deputy director, Joseph Bodovitz, died on March 9, 2024, at age 93, following a very influential career in public service and environmental protection. A remembrance by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission observed, “Nobody in the entire State of California was more influential in developing California’s coastal zone management policies than Joe Bodovitz.” And it all started at SPUR.

A first-in-the-nation air quality standard for home heating equipment will dramatically improve the Bay Area's air quality, save lives, and help the state meet its climate goals. What will ensure that everyone can afford healthy, efficient, and carbon-free heat pumps? SPUR lays out how to use funding, financing, and market development to ensure heat pumps are affordable through 2027 and beyond.

The California State Legislature will soon consider legislation that would enable the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to put a regional transportation measure on a future ballot, potentially authorizing significant new funding for transit and other mobility investments. SPUR has not yet taken a formal position on a prospective measure, but we are weighing in now to ensure that any legislation that moves forward is grounded in good policy and positions the region for success at the ballot.

This week, former SPUR board chair Tomiquia Moss began her new job as secretary of California’s Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH). SPUR is thrilled to support Tomiquia in her new role. We recently spoke with her about what she’s looking forward to working on as BCSH secretary.