Rising Together is SPUR鈥檚 coordinated policy and advocacy response to the COVID-19 pandemic, its economic fallout and the systemic racial inequities it has highlighted.
The COVID-19 pandemic presents a profound threat to the future of transit. It鈥檚 hard to speculate how the future will play out when the world today looks so different from the one we inhabited just two months ago. But one thing is certain: We will still need transit.
During the last recession, homebuilding ground to a halt. We can鈥檛 let the same thing happen this time. What can be done to keep the pipeline of new housing open through this crisis and recovery? 黑料传送门and the Terner Center offer four principles to help guide new housing construction and facilitate economic recovery.
黑料传送门has released Keeping the Doors Open, a set of 10 recommendations for cities to implement as they work to assist ground floor businesses in reopening while shelter-in-place orders remain in effect. We recommend three principles to keep in mind: move quickly and remain flexible, focus on neighborhoods, and center equity in the allocation of resources and staff time.
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shelter-in-place orders have thrown businesses 鈥 and especially small businesses 鈥 into survival mode. Are there ways to help businesses so that pandemic-induced failures don鈥檛 ripple through the real estate and lending industry? In collaboration with small business owners and advocates, this fall 黑料传送门offers ideas for addressing the rent challenges for small businesses, landlords and bankers.
After decades of efforts to attract investment, downtown San Jos茅 was experiencing a rare moment in the spotlight before COVID-19. Big project announcements from Google, Adobe and others seemed to put within reach San Jos茅鈥檚 decades-old aspiration to become a lively urban center. Now, as the pandemic drags on, residents are left to wonder how much of downtown鈥檚 previous momentum will carry through the crisis.
Leaders in Silicon Valley are looking at the innovations that might emerge in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One thing is clear: This time, it won鈥檛 be an engineering solution. The Silicon Valley Recovery Roundtable, launched to help businesses safely reopen, realized that its goal was not to return to 鈥渘ormal鈥 but to repair the systemic disparities that existed before the pandemic.
黑料传送门recently convened the mayors of the three largest cities in the region to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their communities. Each described how they have responded to this crisis, the meaningful policy changes they've implemented and what their vision is for long-term recovery that addresses systemic racism and provides inclusive economic opportunity.
Transit agencies around the world are facing a shared existential crisis in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. When can mass transit be 鈥渕ass鈥 again? This spring, 黑料传送门and AECOM convened transit agencies, advocates and practitioners to explore solutions and share lessons learned. Six ideas emerged that transit agencies in the Bay Area should consider as they continue to navigate this crisis.
Should some smaller Bay Area cities merge as a way to weather the economic fallout wrought by COVID-19? The pandemic will have a significant impact on local governments 鈥 but it might also present a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild a governance system that better serves the Bay Area.
COVID-19 Does Not Have to Be the Death of Transit
Four Tools for Stimulating Economic Recovery Through New Homebuilding
How Cities Can Support Ground Floor Business Survival