HSR Report: What can California Learn from High-Speed Rail Systems around the World?
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This Week: JAPAN For evident selfish reasons, I like to tout the Golden State as the breeding ground for innovation. And as California attempts to build the first high-speed rail (HSR) network in the country, it's tempting to consider ourselves warriors heralding in a new day for transportation. Really, though, HSR has been successful for decades in Asia and Europe. Nations from South Africa to…
What's in a Name? Mission Bay's "Block 27 Parking Structure" Highlights Neighborhood's Potential
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Maybe "Block 27 Parking Structure" isn't the most promising of names, but there's not much one can do to jazz up this widely reviled building type, so why try to come up with something catchy -- right? At least that's what I thought before encountering WRNS Studio's garage on SPUR's Mission Bay walking tour last week. The Mission Bay Redevelopment District, home to luxury…
After the Disaster
SPUR Report
After a major disaster, our transportation infrastructure could be severely damaged. How are we going to get around in the weeks and months after an earthquake, if one or more of our regional transportation links fails? Who should lead the recovery effort? And what can we do now to make our roads, bridges and tunnels more resilient?
Datablog: Does Unemployment Equal More Crime?
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Crime and unemployment: two things cities consistently battle with, but rarely like to talk about. While it may seem like these two issues are linked, with crime rising out of necessity, GOOD's recent infographic shows that a positive correlation may not exist. Working with Part and Parcel, a small design firm in New York, GOOD's Transparency graphic confronts this issue in a very direct manner…
Fix Muni Now Campaign and Supervisor Elsbernd Deliver Nearly 75,000 Petitions to City Hall
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[Photo Credit: Colleen McHugh] For the past several months, SPUR has been working with Supervisor Sean Elsbernd and the Fix Muni Now campaign to get Muni reform on the November ballot. Later today, the campaign will submit to the Department of Elections nearly 75,000 petitions—about 30,000 more than needed to qualify for the November ballot. The signature-gathering effort relied heavily on the help of hundreds…
Urban Field Notes: Lessons from Eight SF Alleys
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Alleys serve many purposes and people, often all in the same space. They provide back access so that service vehicles and garages don't conflict with transit and pedestrians, and so that main frontages can be preserved for shops and lobbies. They provide affordable and quirky commercial spaces for small businesses. They reduce the scale of large blocks, bringing light and air into dense areas, and…
Organizing for Economic Growth
SPUR Report
San Francisco has successfully adjusted to many economic changes in its past, but the city's economic development system is not yet working as well as it needs to. The city faces a major question about how to organize and pay for economic development work. This memorandum explores what the appropriate model should be for carrying out business formation, retention and attraction in San Francisco.
The Datablog
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Data. The mere mention of the word can overwhelm, baffle, and cause general disorientation. In its raw state, or as displayed in traditional forms such as pie charts and bar graphs, data has a tendency to elicit these negative reactions. This confusion occurs when the reader is unable to decipher what story is being told, or why they are being told it. Given appropriate visual…
Photos of the Week
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Our second installment of the Photos of the Week posting features images submitted by SPUR members and friends. If you are interested in seeing your own photos show up in the Photos of the Week, please add your shots to our Flickr Pool! [Image: flickr user lunatic teacup] There has been a lot of excitement lately surrounding the multitude of Pavement to…
We Want to See San Francisco Through Your Lens!
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We are starting a new posting series with the hopes of engaging the creative points-of-view of the SPUR community. Each week we will feature a few photos from SPUR members and friends in a "Photos of the Week" blog. If you are interested in participating, please upload your images to our Flickr Group Pool. Include a caption, if applicable. For now, the theme is…
A Gem of the Green Movement, Emerald Cities Published Last Week
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In Emerald Cities: Urban Sustainability and Economic Development, Joan Fitzgerald, director of the Law, Policy and Society Program at Northeastern University, showcases how some cities have taken the lead in creating policy that is mutually beneficial to both the environment and economic development. Ms. Fitzgerald spoke on this subject and introduced her book at SPUR, this past November 17th. According to Joan Fitzgerald…
Grass Roots Green: The Indian Perspective on a Sustainable Environment
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SPUR is co-hosting with the AIA a lunchtime lecture on bottom-up sustainability practices in India. “Grass roots green” refers to the design approaches in India and other developing countries, which look to innovatively use traditional common-sense methods, knowledge and approaches to minimize consumption. Speakers Nimish Patel and Parul Zaveri, cofounders of the Indian design firm, Abhikram, will share some of their award winning…
PARK(ing) Day, Everyday
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Mayor Gavin Newsom, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, DPW Director Ed Reiskin and a crowd of supporters gathered yesterday in front of Mojo Bicycle Café on Divisadero at Hayes to celebrate the opening of the city’s first of many new “parklets.” These parklets—parking spaces repurposed as lively sidewalk extensions—are part of the city’s Pavement to Parks initiative. The new Divisadero Street parklet consists of a…
Cycling directions are finally on the (Google) map
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Don't be sheepish—try the new Google Maps cycling directions feature. In response to years of requests for a bicycling option and over fifty thousand signatures on the “Bike There” petition, Google Maps has unveiled a new feature that helps cyclists find bike-friendly roads and while avoiding less-friendly streets. In this Web 2.0 era, platforms like NextBus.com and 511.com have…
Recap: the Muni Budget Crisis
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[Despite historic shortfalls, SPUR believes the SFMTA can balance its budget without further service cuts and fare hikes.] Looks like SPUR's 28-point proposal to balance the Muni budget's been catching on. (We're glad, because we think it makes a lot of sense, too!) In last Sunday's Chronicle, Rachel Gordon put current events in context by noting other significant Muni reform efforts (including SPUR campaigns…
Creating Our Own Champs-Elysées
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After learning about new plans for San Francisco's public realm—widened sidewalks and bike lanes on Cesar Chavez Street and throughout the Mission District, a complete makeover of Fisherman’s Wharf—it was time to tackle a public space issue ourselves: Market Street. SPUR teamed up with Next American City and the AIA to host an interactive charrette. Building on the Better Market Street Project…