Purchasing Power
Improving San Francisco’s procurement process to deliver more equitable services
Success on the Street
How California’s CEQA exemption can help cities build modern mobility faster
How a Governance Reset Could Improve San Franciscans’ Well-Being: Q&A with Nicole Neditch
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San Francisco's system of governance has evolved over the decades into a complex web, making it hard for the city to implement policies and serve residents effectively. We spoke with Nicole Neditch about a new ϴreport that breaks down this complexity and proposes a redesign focused on leadership, empowerment, and accountability.
Smoothing the Transition to Heat Pumps, Part 1: Code Changes
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As the Bay Area phases out sales of gas furnaces and water heaters, more and more property owners will need to install zero-pollution, high-efficiency electric heat pumps in homes. City planners must quickly make these installations easier and more affordable by amending municipal zoning ordinances and permitting processes. In the first article of a series on accelerating heat pump adoption, ϴrecommends four zoning code strategies.
It’s California’s Duty to Make Streets Safe for All Users
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In 2023, an estimated 4,000 people died on California’s roadways. More than 30% of these traffic deaths happened on state-owned roads. It doesn’t have to be this way. ϴ— together with CalBike, WalkSF, StreetsforAll, KidSafeSF, and AARP California — is sponsoring Senate Bill 960 to make state roads that function as local streets safer by design. In this article, we share testimony from a California mom who lost her husband to a collision that safer street design could have prevented.
ϴSponsors State Bills to Promote Housing Production
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Among the many state housing bills ϴis advocating for this year, we are sponsoring five in particular that would facilitate housing production through transit-oriented, mixed-income, and affordable residential development. The bills tackle issues from lack of transparency about the total costs of a project’s development impact fees to attempts by jurisdictions to thwart the so-called Builder’s Remedy.
Designed to Serve
ϴReport
Over time, San Francisco’s governance structure has evolved to distribute authority and maximize oversight. As a consequence, policies don’t always meet the needs of the people they were intended to serve. The lack of clear, coordinated action to address big challenges has led to a growing perception that city government isn’t working. SPUR’s latest report outlines how San Francisco can choose to design a better system that supports leadership and empowerment with clear lines of accountability.