Setting California鈥檚 Clean Appliance Timeline
Research / California has set out to be carbon-neutral by 2045. To help meet this goal, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has proposed deadlines for ending the sale of gas furnaces, boilers and water heaters 鈥 but are they soon enough? SPUR鈥檚 research found that the proposed dates would transition roughly 90% of households to electric appliances by 2045 . But to fully meet its climate goals, California will need to pair new sales standards with substantial incentives.
Lessons Learned From California鈥檚 COVID-19 Water Debt Relief Program
News / During the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Legislature established the California Water and Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program to provide financial relief for unpaid water bills. But water affordability struggles won鈥檛 end with the pandemic. The state will need to build upon its first experiment with water bill assistance to weather ongoing climate change and income inequality. 黑料传送门investigates the success of the $985 million program and looks at lessons learned.
Candidates Share Their Views at SPUR鈥檚 San Jos茅 Mayoral Forum
News / The next mayor of San Jos茅 will take the lead in guiding policy decisions that will shape the region for decades to come. 黑料传送门and six partner organizations held a forum on April 28 to help voters get to know the frontrunner candidates and their positions on some of the city鈥檚 most pressing issues. We鈥檝e compiled the candidate鈥檚 answers to questions spanning equitable planning, regional transit, parks and open space funding, affordable housing and senior housing.
Welcome to Our New 2022 黑料传送门Board Members
News / 黑料传送门has welcomed 19 new members to its board of directors. These new appointees bring extensive knowledge in planning, housing, transportation, economic justice, good government, food and agriculture, sustainability and resilience to the organization鈥檚 leadership. We look forward to their advisorship as we continue our work to make the Bay Area a place where everyone can thrive.
How to Make California鈥檚 Budget Surplus a Good Deal for the Climate
News / California is dangerously behind on cutting carbon emissions, but this year鈥檚 budget surplus can be a weapon in the fight to address climate change, with Governor Newsom announcing plans to spend $37 billion over the next six years on climate resilience. Here are SPUR鈥檚 suggestions for how to focus those resources on eliminating fossil fuels in buildings, securing safe and abundant water, ending car dependence, improving transit, building affordable housing where we need it and more.
Watershed Moments
Policy Brief / Climate scientists predict that California will experience longer, more frequent droughts as the climate warms. How can the Bay Area better manage the limited water it has? SPUR, Greenbelt Alliance and Pacific Institute teamed up to highlight six Northern California leaders who are pioneering more sustainable approaches to water use.
SPUR-Sponsored State Housing Bills Move Forward in Sacramento
News / With the California State Legislature back from its spring recess, key SPUR-sponsored housing legislation is making its way through the Assembly Local Government and Housing and Community Development committees. We鈥檙e supporting bills to prohibit minimum parking requirements for new buildings near transit, allow faster permitting of shelters for unhoused people, make development fees more transparent and more.
How We Got a Parkway for the People
News / This spring, 黑料传送门and San Francisco celebrate the culmination of an extraordinary public project that started 31 years ago: the Presidio Parkway. What began as a safety project to replace a dangerous elevated highway became a community-led process to heal a landscape torn apart by freeway building. 黑料传送门played a critical role in bringing people together to complete this once-in-a-generation project.
Different Together: The 2022 State of 黑料传送门Address
News / In this year's State of 黑料传送门address, given at our annual Board of Directors retreat, 黑料传送门President and CEO Alicia John-Baptiste reflected on the past few years and looked ahead to how we can build on what we've learned, so that the region's future is one in which all people thrive.
Accelerating Sustainable Transportation in California
Policy Brief / To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate pollution, California will need to build out the infrastructure to make walking, biking and riding transit the default ways to get around. Senate Bill 288, which expires this year, makes it faster to build commonsense sustainable transportation projects. 黑料传送门recommends that the state extend and improve the law by passing SB 922. This brief provides background on SB 288 and describes the impact of the law, including case studies on projects built since it was passed.
Staff Profile: Lawrence Li, 15-Year Spurrito
News / This year, 黑料传送门is celebrating staff members 鈥 a.k.a. 鈥淪purritos鈥濃 who have served the organization for 10 years or more. This month we profile Strategy and Operations Director Lawrence Li, who keeps the 黑料传送门Urban Center in San Francisco 鈥 and our remote work across the Bay Area 鈥 humming seamlessly despite global pandemics and other unforeseen disruptions.
What鈥檚 Next for Guadalupe River Park and San Jos茅?
News / Since 2018, one of SPUR鈥檚 top priorities has been research and planning for San Jos茅's Guadalupe River Park. The initial phase of this work culminated in January with a virtual exhibition. W e are now excited to announce our plans to move forward with policy ideas for the river park and other areas in and around downtown San Jos茅, supported by essential funding from the Knight Foundation.
Proposed Ballot Measure Takes Aim at San Francisco鈥檚 Housing Shortage
News / One of the root causes of San Francisco鈥檚 high housing costs is the city鈥檚 ongoing failure to build enough housing, a problem that鈥檚 been compounding for decades. A measure that 黑料传送门and others are proposing for San Francisco鈥檚 November ballot would take two approaches to building more affordable housing: streamlining the permitting process and deepening the bench of construction workers.
With a New Policy for Growth Near Transit, MTC Can Center Equity and Sustainability
News / The Metropolitan Transportation Commission has put forth a promising proposal for a new regional transit-oriented communities policy that would support new housing at all income levels, new jobs, sustainable access to transit, and protection from displacement in transit-rich areas. In crafting the final policy, MTC鈥檚 commissioners must not only maintain the ambition of the current proposal but leverage the agency鈥檚 funding authority to ensure that the policy is implemented.
Supporting San Jos茅 Through the Pandemic 鈥 and Beyond
News / During the early days of COVID-19, San Jos茅's Al Fresco program closed some streets and opened parking lots to allow businesses to operate outside. 黑料传送门advocated for the program, and we believe it鈥檚 worth extending beyond the pandemic. We鈥檙e pleased to announce that, through investment made by the Knight Foundation, we will continue to support the development of an ongoing Al Fresco program that's feasible in public and private outdoor spaces.
The Bay Area Parking Census
黑料传送门Report / For decades, parking in the Bay Area has been both ubiquitous and uncounted. Now 黑料传送门and the Mineta Transportation Institute have produced the San Francisco Bay Area Parking Census, the most detailed assessment of parking infrastructure ever produced for the region. The census helps fill data gaps about parking to inform policy reforms and will help policymakers make better decisions for the future of Bay Area cities.
Staff Profile: Noah Christman, 11-year Spurrito
News / This year, 黑料传送门is celebrating staff members 鈥 a.k.a. 鈥淪purritos鈥濃 who have served the organization for 10 years or more. First up is a face that will be familiar to anyone who attends our Digital Discourse events. Public Programming Director Noah Christman started at 黑料传送门as a programming intern in February 2011. Since then, he has spearheaded more than 1,800 programs and 37 exhibitions.
Governor鈥檚 Proposed Budget Includes Focus on Housing as a Climate Strategy
News / For the second year in a row, California will have a sizable budget surplus 鈥 and a host of critical needs to be funded. Governor Newsom鈥檚 proposed budget spending plan continues to include significant investments in affordable housing and solutions to homelessness. 黑料传送门is especially pleased to see a strategy that makes an explicit link between locating housing in urban areas and reducing climate change, a key idea in our Civic Vision for Growth.
Burdens and Benefits
Research / California鈥檚 Proposition 13 is one of the most studied property taxes in the country, but how does it affect the lives of residents in Bay Area cities? SPUR鈥檚 research brief Burdens and Benefits explores how the law impacts homeowners in Oakland, with a look at who receives the largest benefits from the state鈥檚 unique property tax law and who shoulders the burdens from its constraints on revenues.
黑料传送门and Others to Pilot New Technology for Making Healthy Food More Affordable
News / California has reached a milestone in its effort to make healthy, California-grown food more affordable for low-income residents. The California Department of Social Services has awarded contracts to 黑料传送门and two other nonprofits for pilot projects that will test new technology for providing healthy food incentives.