Could Mid-Market Become SF's Next Hot Neighborhood?
News / There's been a lot of hullabaloo about San Francisco's Mid-Market area lately, mostly focused on the new payroll tax exemption for businesses that locate in the neighborhood and the planned CityPlace Project , a major retail development, both approved by the city last September. But a gaggle of planners and economic development experts are already working hard to transform this area into an arts district anchored by a redesigned Market Street.
Measuring San Francisco's Ecological Footprint
News / In the 1970s, we crossed a global threshold when the rate of human demand for natural resources began to outpace the rate at which nature could provide them. How do we know this? By measuring our “ecological footprint” — natural resource consumption as a function of goods and services purchased. Recently SPUR and the Global Footprint Network released a study of San Francisco's ecological footprint.
Does the Bay Area Have the Best Quality of Life -- Or the Worst?
News / Where does San Francisco rank in a study measuring standard of living in California?
Can Market Street Be Great Again?
The Urbanist /Public Workshop #2: Break-out Group Results
News / Hello Ocean Beach go-ers! The Ocean Beach Master Plan team is busy at work processing the input from Public Workshop #2, and we thought you may be interested to take a look at the results yourselves. Photographed below are the ideas generated by the break-out groups at the workshop (please note: the names of individuals were blurred for their privacy). To see larger versions, please…
Urbanition: SF and Sydney Artists Re-think Our Use of Public Space
News / What would make a morning commute on BART a more enjoyable, engaging and productive experience? Bike repairs? Coffee and snacks? Book clubs? Short films? Spinning classes? Speed dating? These are a few of the playful ideas local art collective REBAR explores as redesigns for BART car interiors in their project you are bART. The piece is part of the inaugural Sister City Biennial exhibition Urbanition …
Should We Plan for Sprawl?
News / Work on Senate Bill 375, California's anti-sprawl legislation, continued last month with a joint meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Association of Bay Area Governments. The question at hand: Should MTC and ABAG approve a set of five alternative growth scenarios to further analyze? Each scenario includes a set of assumptions about where growth will go, what will be spent on transportation in the region's urban core vs. at its edge, and what tools will be used to change travel behavior and development.
Good Government Awards: How Susan Fernyak Prevented an H1N1 Disaster
News / SPUR’s 31st annual Good Government Awards, held earlier this year, honored five City of San Francisco employees and teams who have performed exceptionally, becoming models for other agencies and cities around the country. In recognition of her vital role in the City, her leadership in developing the City's Infectious Disease Response Plan and for her exemplary response to the 2009 outbreak of the H1N1 Influenza…
Traffic Safety in the Age of the Bicycle
News / After observing aggressive and dangerous behavior by drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians on New York City streets, designer Ron Gabriel decided to focus his master’s thesis at the School of Visual Arts on the danger posed by a single NYC intersection. He shot hours of video footage of Park Avenue and 28th Street, edited together clips of accidents and near-accidents, and used video-game-like graphics to highlight…
How Do We Get DENSER?
News / Image credit: flickr user baldheretic Due to overwhelming demand pre-registration for this event is closed. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door. This Tuesday night SPUR will host DENSER , a "Pecha Kucha" night on density, infill and urban development. What's Pecha Kucha? Named after the Japanese word for conversation or “chit chat,” it's a place for designers and other thinkers…
The Chronicle Building's Latest Transformation
News / Since the DeYoung Brothers first founded the The Daily Dramatic Chronicle in 1865, the home of San Francisco’s pioneering newspaper has been an incubator for ideas and innovation. Within a decade of its founding, the San Francisco Chronicle had the largest circulation of any newspaper west of the Mississippi River. The company has moved twice since then, and its headquarters buildings have always represented changing…
Will Bay Area Cities Survive the Next Big Disaster?
News / What happens the next time we have a major earthquake on the Hayward or San Andreas Fault? What should we be doing right now to make sure we are prepared? The Association of Bay Area Governments considered these questions at its forum “ Shaken Awake: Creative Ways to Strengthen Housing and Promote Resilience in Today’s Economy .”
The Bay Plan Amendment Closes in on Consensus
News / There’s something in it for everyone to hate and something for everyone to love, but after two years, we are optimistic: We may be very close to a consensus on how to amend the San Francisco Bay Plan with new information about climate change.
Exploring Ideas for the Future of Ocean Beach
News / The Ocean Beach master planning process took a big step forward this month. The project team, led by SPUR, presented four “test scenarios” at its second public meeting on June 4. Based on input from our first public meeting in January, the scenarios explore the outcomes of very different approaches to managing coastal erosion, infrastructure and ecology at Ocean Beach until the year 2100. None…
Public Workshop #2 - Presentation Material Available
News / The power point presentation from the June 4 public workshop is now available for download. Please find it below!
Good Government Awards: How Dana Ketcham Modernized SF's Park Permits
News / SPUR’s 31st annual Good Government Awards, held earlier this year, honored five City of San Francisco employees and teams who have performed exceptionally, becoming models for other agencies and cities around the country. Dana Ketcham became involved in the Recreation and Park Department as a full-time volunteer when she spent two years redesigning the 103 athletic fields' reservation and permit system. She surveyed all field…
Will the City's Pension Proposal Really Solve the Pension Crisis?
News / In the coming weeks, the SF Board of Supervisors Rules Committee will be hearing the "consensus" proposal for pension reform, which Mayor Ed Lee and a coalition of the city’s labor unions released May 24. The board has until July to make amendments and vote on the proposal. The proposal, which projects savings of $1 billion over ten years, would: Require that city employees pay…
San Francisco Crowned the ‘Coolest’ Climate-Ready City
News / The 108 Treasure Island bus. Photo by flickr user juicyrai . According to a recent analysis by the carbon-offset managers at CO2IMPACT , San Francisco tops the list of U.S. cities ready for climate change. The study gave us high marks for having committed political leaders, a proactive university community (11 SF schools are members of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher…
Public Workshop #2 - Summary
News / We had a very successful public workshop for the Ocean Beach Master Plan on Saturday morning, June 4th. Special thanks to the 60 dedicated neighbors, advocates, and stakeholders who came out in the pouring rain to review our work and provide their input! Thanks also to the SF Rec and Park Department for providing the venue. In case you were unable to attend and still…
4 BART Stations, 1,000 New Residences, 0 Added Footprint
News / Photo by Karen Chapple Accessory dwelling units — better known as cottages, in-law apartments or granny flats — could provide an estimated 1,000 new residences near selected BART stations, research by UC Berkeley Professor Karen Chapple shows. ADUs diversify and increase the housing stock without enlarging a neighborhood's footprint, while allowing senior citizens to find a smaller dwelling without leaving their neighborhood, or college graduates…