Governance
We believe: The public sector can and should serve the collective good.
鈥 Improve government鈥檚 capacity to provide services and address challenges effectively.
鈥 Support voter engagement.
Our Goals
黑料传送门Report
Designed to Serve
San Francisco鈥檚 governance structure has evolved to distribute authority and maximize oversight. As a result, policies don鈥檛 always meet the needs of the people they intend to serve. 黑料传送门outlines how San Francisco can choose to design a better system.
黑料传送门Report
Designed to Serve
San Francisco鈥檚 governance structure has evolved to distribute authority and maximize oversight. As a result, policies don鈥檛 always meet the needs of the people they intend to serve. 黑料传送门outlines how San Francisco can choose to design a better system.
黑料传送门Voter Guide
The 黑料传送门Voter Guide
The 黑料传送门Voter Guide helps voters understand the issues they will face in the voting booth. We focus on outcomes, not ideology, providing objective analysis on which measures will deliver real solutions.
黑料传送门Voter Guide
The 黑料传送门Voter Guide
The 黑料传送门Voter Guide helps voters understand the issues they will face in the voting booth. We focus on outcomes, not ideology, providing objective analysis on which measures will deliver real solutions.
黑料传送门Report
Making Government Work
Many of the challenges Oakland faces are worsened by its unusual government structure, which makes it harder for the mayor and other officials to do their jobs well. 黑料传送门explores how the city can adapt its governance structure to better serve Oaklanders.
黑料传送门Report
Making Government Work
Many of the challenges Oakland faces are worsened by its unusual government structure, which makes it harder for the mayor and other officials to do their jobs well. 黑料传送门explores how the city can adapt its governance structure to better serve Oaklanders.
Updates and Events
Op-Ed: There鈥檚 No Fixing San Francisco Without Fixing Its City Charter. Here鈥檚 How
News / In an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle, 黑料传送门argues that the San Francisco City Charter is due for an overhaul. What was meant to be a concise constitutional framework has become a detailed and disjointed instruction manual. Riddled with outdated, duplicative, and overly specific provisions, the charter ties the city鈥檚 hands at precisely the moment when flexibility and adaptability are needed most.
Charter for Change
Policy Brief / San Francisco's 548-page city charter, expanded through amendments over time, is hindering effective governance and solutions for housing affordability, public safety, climate resilience, and other critical issues. The November 2026 election offers a chance to update it. Our policy brief proposes 10 changes that, if approved by voters, would empower city leadership, improve outcomes, access, and accountability, and create a more effective and responsive government.
黑料传送门Member Profile: Claudine Cheng
Urbanist Article / Claudine Cheng is an attorney specializing in regulatory compliance, corporate governance, and land use in San Francisco. A community advocate and activist, she believes that one of the most powerful tools for city wellbeing is a strong arts and culture scene. We asked her about the role arts and culture initiatives play in a city鈥檚 health.
Governing Adaptation
Urbanist Article / Meeting the challenge of sea level rise in the San Francisco Bay Area will require cities and counties to work together on adaptation efforts. Several promising local governance structures are already demonstrating how communities can work together on legally mandated subregional shoreline adaptation plans.
A New Governance Model for Downtown Revitalization
Urbanist Article / The downtown districts of San Francisco, San Jose虂, and Oakland all face high office vacancies and shuttered storefronts as hybrid workplaces and declining tourism lower the daytime population. As cities grapple with an oversupply of commercial spaces, leaders have an opportunity to revitalize downtowns in a way that creates more housing opportunities, enhances economic mobility through small-business ownership, invests in public infrastructure, and nurtures arts and culture organizations.
Governing Across Boundaries
Urbanist Article / The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most prosperous regions in the world but prosperity has not been equitably shared, and our governance structures haven鈥檛 kept pace with the region鈥檚 growing complexity. The challenges we face 鈥 a housing shortage, climate change, economic inequality, aging infrastructure 鈥 are regional in nature. If we are to meet this moment, we need regional governance systems designed to respond at the right scale, with the right tools.