San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association [SPUR]
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About [Edit]
The San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association [SPUR] is San Francisco`s preeminent public-policy think tank. Through research, analysis, public education, and advocacy, SPUR promotes good planning and good government.
SPUR was formed in 1959 to fight for the revitalization of San Francisco as the Bay Area`s central city. It was given the charge of channeling growth away from suburban sprawl and back into the urban core. Throughout the 1960s, SPUR worked to build support for the land use, transportation, and investment strategies that could support center-oriented growth and urban economic vitality.
Since then, SPUR has been involved with virtually every major planning decision in the city. We bring together neighborhood leaders, government officials, business leaders, planners, architects, students, and activists—the full range of people who care about San Francisco—to debate, learn, and plan for the needs of the city as a whole.
In a city dominated by single-interest politics, SPUR plays the crucial role of uniting citizens from all parts of the city to jointly craft solutions to our common problems.
Committees
Transportation Committee
The coordinating group for all of SPUR’s transportation efforts, this committee sounds out proposals of all types and convenes more targeted working groups. Recent projects include traffic calming on city streets, regional transportation investments, parking policy, and pedestrian safety legislation.
Urban Planning Committee
Leads SPUR’s efforts on citywide and neighborhood plans. Promotes awareness and use of the General Plan as a decision-making tool. Guides SPUR’s participation in plans for specific neighborhoods including Balboa Park, Central Waterfront, Market/Octavia, Mid-Market, Rincon Hill, Transbay, SOMA, the Mission, and Showplace Square.
State and Regional Affairs Committee
When SPUR began, San Francisco was the clear center of the Bay Area. Today, there are two more central cities, Oakland and San Jose, and the vast majority of the region lives in the suburbs. As a San Francisco-based organization, SPUR cannot speak for other places. But we can try to encourage San Francisco to be a leader in the Bay Area, and to participate responsibly in regional decision-making. SPUR works with its allies around the region to promote good regional planning. The committee’s current focus is on the role of regional planning agencies – the Metropolitan Transportation Committee and the Association of Bay Area Governments – in long term regional planning.
Sustainable Development Committee
SPUR began its life in 1959 as the organization responsible for channeling urban growth away from the periphery, and back into the urban core. Therefore, SPUR has always had an environmental agenda at the root of its purpose. However, in recent years, SPUR has deepened its focus on ecological concerns. The Sustainable Development Committee serves as the coordinating body for various efforts to promote resource conservation, environmental awareness, and urban design that reflects ecological values. This committee coordinates the efforts of multiple sub-committees to promote resource conservation, environmental awareness, and urban design that reflect ecological values. Active sub-committees include the topics of Green Building, Green Redevelopment, Sustainable parks, and Ecological Landscape.
City Management and Finance Committee
In an age of cynicism about government, when it has become common to believe that “government can never work,” we continue to believe that government can be effective and efficient at what it does. The City Management and Finance Committee serves as the coordinating body for SPUR’s many efforts to help the local government work better. Currently, the committee is working on tax policy, the City Budget, the public contracting process, and the City’s human resources system.
SPUR was formed in 1959 to fight for the revitalization of San Francisco as the Bay Area`s central city. It was given the charge of channeling growth away from suburban sprawl and back into the urban core. Throughout the 1960s, SPUR worked to build support for the land use, transportation, and investment strategies that could support center-oriented growth and urban economic vitality.
Since then, SPUR has been involved with virtually every major planning decision in the city. We bring together neighborhood leaders, government officials, business leaders, planners, architects, students, and activists—the full range of people who care about San Francisco—to debate, learn, and plan for the needs of the city as a whole.
In a city dominated by single-interest politics, SPUR plays the crucial role of uniting citizens from all parts of the city to jointly craft solutions to our common problems.
Committees
Transportation Committee
The coordinating group for all of SPUR’s transportation efforts, this committee sounds out proposals of all types and convenes more targeted working groups. Recent projects include traffic calming on city streets, regional transportation investments, parking policy, and pedestrian safety legislation.
Urban Planning Committee
Leads SPUR’s efforts on citywide and neighborhood plans. Promotes awareness and use of the General Plan as a decision-making tool. Guides SPUR’s participation in plans for specific neighborhoods including Balboa Park, Central Waterfront, Market/Octavia, Mid-Market, Rincon Hill, Transbay, SOMA, the Mission, and Showplace Square.
State and Regional Affairs Committee
When SPUR began, San Francisco was the clear center of the Bay Area. Today, there are two more central cities, Oakland and San Jose, and the vast majority of the region lives in the suburbs. As a San Francisco-based organization, SPUR cannot speak for other places. But we can try to encourage San Francisco to be a leader in the Bay Area, and to participate responsibly in regional decision-making. SPUR works with its allies around the region to promote good regional planning. The committee’s current focus is on the role of regional planning agencies – the Metropolitan Transportation Committee and the Association of Bay Area Governments – in long term regional planning.
Sustainable Development Committee
SPUR began its life in 1959 as the organization responsible for channeling urban growth away from the periphery, and back into the urban core. Therefore, SPUR has always had an environmental agenda at the root of its purpose. However, in recent years, SPUR has deepened its focus on ecological concerns. The Sustainable Development Committee serves as the coordinating body for various efforts to promote resource conservation, environmental awareness, and urban design that reflects ecological values. This committee coordinates the efforts of multiple sub-committees to promote resource conservation, environmental awareness, and urban design that reflect ecological values. Active sub-committees include the topics of Green Building, Green Redevelopment, Sustainable parks, and Ecological Landscape.
City Management and Finance Committee
In an age of cynicism about government, when it has become common to believe that “government can never work,” we continue to believe that government can be effective and efficient at what it does. The City Management and Finance Committee serves as the coordinating body for SPUR’s many efforts to help the local government work better. Currently, the committee is working on tax policy, the City Budget, the public contracting process, and the City’s human resources system.
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