Governance
We believe: The public sector can and should serve the collective good.
• Improve government’s capacity to provide services and address challenges effectively.
• Support voter engagement.
Our Goals
ϴReport
Designed to Serve
San Francisco’s governance structure has evolved to distribute authority and maximize oversight. As a result, policies don’t always meet the needs of the people they intend to serve. ϴoutlines how San Francisco can choose to design a better system.
ϴVoter Guide
The ϴVoter Guide
The ϴVoter 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.
ϴReport
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. ϴexplores how the city can adapt its governance structure to better serve Oaklanders.
Updates and Events
SPUR's Urban Village Comments to the General Plan Task Force
Advocacy Letter
Staff’s memo regarding the proposed modifications to the Urban Village general plan policy. ϴhas been a continuous supporter of the San Jose’s Urban Village plan as a way to create more mixed-use, higher density development throughout San Jose.
ϴprovides comments on the City of San Jose proposed extension of the downtown high-rise incentive program
Advocacy Letter
ϴsupports staff recommendation to extend the downtown high-rise incentive program until 2023. While we believe that downtown must have a large concentration of jobs to support transit, it is also important to maximize the potential of high-rise residential development downtown. This program helps ease the financial burden due to the cost of construction and land to help spur greater development in the urban core.
ϴsubmits comments on Stanford's proposed 2018 General Use Permit for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors meeting on September 24, 2019.
Advocacy Letter
ϴsupports Stanford’s application to update their permit granting an extension for future campus development through 2035.
ϴsupports the City of San Jose ordinance to adopt Reach Codes for new construction city-wide
Advocacy Letter
ϴsupports the proposed ordinance to adopt city-wide reach codes as a way to further realize the Climate Smart San Jose plan. This ordinance upholds many of the principles laid out in our 2016 report, Fossil-Free Bay Area, such as increasing the energy performance of new buildings and establishing high-efficiency standards is a key strategy to reducing our carbon footprint and fossil fuel use.
ϴComments on the Forecast Methodology for Plan Bay Area 2050
Advocacy Letter
ABAG and MTC have worked to improve regional long-range forecasting and modeling in the Bay Area. ϴrecognizes MTC and ABAG’s thought leadership and offers additional research and process considerations as they finalize the forecast methodology for Plan Bay Area 2050.
How Has San Francisco Done on Addressing Housing and Homelessness?
News /
Just before San Francisco’s 2018 mayoral election, ϴreleased San Francisco’s Next Mayor: A Blueprint for Change, a policy agenda for the city's next leader. One year later, we took a look back at the progress that Mayor Breed and the Board of Supervisors have made toward those recommendations, specifically on housing and homelessness.