SPUR Publications

Uber’s recent announcement that it is adding new travel modes to its platform caught the public transportation sector flat footed. It’s time for Bay Area transportation leaders to start setting a vision for mobility-as-a-service, an approach that makes many transportation choices available through a single platform and payment system. For many reasons, we need government — not the private sector — to take the lead.

The adoption of autonomous vehicles on a grand scale is not inevitable, and their predicted benefits have not yet been proven. As we plan for the transportation system of the future, we should set goals that we will accomplish with AVs or without them. The following are effective strategies to manage traffic and make it easier to get around — even if AVs never arrive.

What would you and your family do if a serious earthquake struck the East Bay? The U.S. Geological Society has released a major study of a hypothetical magnitude-7.0 earthquake striking on the Hayward Fault. Known as the HayWired earthquake scenario, the project uses scientific modeling of realistic impacts to envision what would happen — and what we need to do to get ready.

Depending on who you talk to, the introduction of autonomous vehicles could be a panacea or endlessly fraught with problems. But AVs are not inevitable: We need to plan for many possible scenarios. As part of the SPUR Regional Strategy , we have launched research on the Bay Area's future transportation system. Here’s a look at our thinking on how AVs could manifest in cities.

With only enough shelter beds to serve 25 percent of its homeless population, San Jose continues to look for short-term housing interventions. One promising step: The San Jose Department of Housing is in the process of piloting Bridge Housing Communities, a micro community of 40 sleeping cabins and community spaces to be placed on city-owned property.

In early March, the California High-Speed Rail Authority released its draft 2018 business plan, which outlines key milestones ahead and updates forecasts for costs, service levels and ridership. The plan has some important changes, including a revised funding and delivery schedule of the first operating segment, which will service in the Bay Area and Central Valley as soon as 2027.

This June, voters in San Jose will consider the Evergreen Senior Homes Initiative, a ballot measure that would approve a plan to build 900 housing units for seniors on a 200-acre parcel in the Evergreen area. The measure would create significant exemptions from the priorities laid out in the Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan and weaken inclusionary housing requirements. SPUR recommends voting "no."

Oaklanders have been willing to tax themselves heavily over the years, but it’s never enough to provide an adequate level of services. The need for more, and the inability to deliver it, has been a defining characteristic of the city for the last few decades. How can Oakland change this? By growing its job and tax revenue bases.

Many have asked how Oakland’s publicly owned land might be put to use to create affordable housing. The city is now working with a community coalition to develop a new policy for how public land is used. At issue is whether prioritizing affordable housing on public land would pit affordability against other important imperatives like generating funding for city services and creating well-paying local jobs.