Model Places Illustration

Housing

We believe: Housing is a human right and should be affordable to everyone.

Our Goals

鈥 Increase the supply of housing.

鈥 Provide more affordable housing for low- and middle-income residents.

鈥 Protect low-income communities of color from displacement.

Monte Vista Gardens apartments in San Jos茅

黑料传送门Report

Structured for Success

A key cause of California鈥檚 high housing costs is its decentralized and fragmented housing governance system. 黑料传送门makes 11 recommendations to set California and the Bay Area on the path to produce the housing we need.
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photo of balconies on an apartment building

Research

Losing Ground

黑料传送门examines how the Bay Area鈥檚 housing market has become shaped by scarcity and wide economic divides 鈥 not only among income groups but also among races and ethnicities.
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Apartment Building

Research

Housing the Middle

黑料传送门digs into the housing market鈥檚 failure to meet the needs of middle-income households. California can look to innovative programs across the country as models for how to address the state鈥檚 housing challenges.
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Apartment Construction

Research

Planning by Ballot

黑料传送门has created the most up-to-date database of local land use ballot measures that impact housing production in California. Over the long term, measures that restrict infill housing can undermine housing affordability and have the potential to exacerbate racial segregation.
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Updates and Events

黑料传送门and Partners Urge Amendments to AB 306

Advocacy Letter
Assembly Bill 306 intends to improve housing affordability and make it easier for Los Angeles residents to rebuild after the LA fires. However, as written the bill may do the opposite by restricting any changes to building codes over the next six years and killing efforts to improve the building code that would save consumers and builders money. With more careful reforms to state building code, California can meet both its building sustainability and resilience goals and its housing affordability goals.
Multifamily housing next to a BART station in Oakland

State Legislature鈥檚 Fast-Track Housing Package Includes 3 SPUR-Sponsored Bills

News /
The California State Legislature鈥檚 鈥淔ast-Track Housing鈥 package addresses the state鈥檚 housing crisis on multiple fronts. 黑料传送门sponsored three of the package鈥檚 bills and is working on four other bills that would make it easier to build critically needed housing, including in transit-rich areas where increased density could boost transit use and help the state meet its climate goals.
Sujata Srivastava

How SF鈥檚 New Mayor Should Spend His Next 100 Days: Q&A With Sujata Srivastava

News /
Part of SPUR鈥檚 role is to articulate clear principles and goals for urban policymaking. As San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie鈥檚 administration passes the 100-day mark, 黑料传送门offers a decision-making framework to help the new mayor and his administration set priorities and maintain momentum in the face of complex and evolving challenges.
A crane at the site of a multifamily apartment building under construction in a single-family neighborhood

Mayor Lurie鈥檚 Family Zoning Plan Is a Leap Forward for San Francisco Housing Policy

News /
Mayor Lurie鈥檚 recently proposed Family Zoning Plan increases the likelihood that San Francisco will meet its state-set goal to build 82,069 new homes. The plan would remove regulatory obstacles to building dense multifamily housing in most neighborhoods and create new opportunities to build housing near schools, businesses, and transit. Critically, it would remedy historic patterns of segregation by dismantling hallmarks of exclusionary zoning in the city鈥檚 northern and western neighborhoods.
cover of brief with title in white text on red background

The Next 100 Days

Policy Brief
San Francisco鈥檚 new mayor has made significant strides in his first 100 days in office. To maintain the momentum for change, the Lurie administration will need to set priorities in a time of many competing needs. SPUR鈥檚 new brief offers a framework for developing policies to streamline government operations, revitalize downtown, create more housing, support transit, prepare for climate hazards and earthquakes, and reduce fossil fuel use.
San Francisco Needs to Allow More Homes: A Housing Element Primer Image

Why (and Where) San Francisco Needs to Allow More Homes: A Housing Element Primer

News /
California has set a goal for San Francisco to build 82,069 new homes by 2031. Doing so will mean changing restrictive zoning policies that are currently hindering sufficient housing construction and keeping historic patterns of segregation in place. If the city fails to update its zoning, it risks losing state funding and local control over housing development. 黑料传送门provides a primer on the state鈥檚 housing element law and what it means for San Francisco.
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