photo of San Francisco City Hall

The Next 100 Days

An urbanist decision-making framework for San Francisco’s new mayor

illustration of people helping each other climb a staircase made of red tape

Purchasing Power

Improving San Francisco’s procurement process to deliver more equitable services

bicycle rider in a green bike lane on an urban street

Success on the Street

How California’s CEQA exemption can help cities build modern mobility faster

Mural painted on the headquarters of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District

Culture as Catalyst

How arts and culture districts can revitalize downtowns

Illustration of houses plugging into electricity

Closing the Electrification Affordability Gap

Planning an equitable transition away from fossil fuel heat in Bay Area buildings

California’s Largest Pedestrian Project Expands the Vision of a SPUR-Led Climate Adaptation Plan

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San Francisco voters recently passed a SPUR-cosponsored measure to realize the largest pedestrian project in California’s history. The permanent promenade along a two-mile stretch of the coastal highway expands the vision of SPUR’s 2012 Ocean Beach Master Plan, the core elements of which the California Coastal Commission just approved. The win: a resilient public coastline offering community benefits.

How SF Can Make the Most of Its Opportunity to Streamline Boards and Commissions

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Earlier this year, ϴpublished a report recommending that San Francisco define the purpose and role of its many commissions and reduce their overall number. The passage of Proposition E sets this work in motion. To ensure an outcome that better supports policymaking, ϴproposes five steps to a data-driven, deliberative public process.

Smoothing the Transition to Heat Pumps, Part 3: State-Level Legislation

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As the Bay Area phases out sales of gas water heaters and gas furnaces, property owners will need to install zero-pollution, high-efficiency electric heat pump devices in buildings when the existing devices fail. But the current process is complicated and expensive. In this installment of our series on improving the process, we explore state-level action to mandate, incentivize, guide, and resource simplified permitting at the local level.

A New Regional Approach to Shoreline Resilience

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Bay Area jurisdictions on the shoreline are now required to develop sea level rise adaptation plans as part of a regionally coordinated approach managed by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. ϴparticipated in an advisory group for the commission’s soon-to-be-adopted Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan. With the passage of California Proposition 4, local sea level rise planning efforts could soon benefit from bond funding.

Remembering Joe Brown

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The world lost a talented urbanist and visionary thinker, and ϴa great friend, with the death of Joe Brown on October 31. A ϴmember for over 25 years, Joe was the former CEO of EDAW, which he merged into AECOM and became its chief innovation officer.