"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has"

Margaret Mead, Anthropologist
(used with permission)



"If you don't like the news .... go out and make some of your own !!"

Wes "Scoop" Nisker, Newscaster



INTRODUCTION

Government is a slow and tedious process. While it often includes citizen and neighborhood involvement, non-governmental, private organizations have created movements and interesting groups which can create positive change in our cities and towns.

I am fascinated by the way groups are created and how they influence public decision making. This blog merely recognizes them and forwards the description of these groups from their own websites.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

San Franciscans for Planning and Urban Research

Location: San Francisco, CA

Website: www.spur.org

Through research, education and advocacy, SPUR promotes good planning and good government in the San Francisco Bay Area.

SPUR's history dates back to 1910, when a group of young city leaders came together to improve the quality of housing after the 1906 earthquake and fire. That group, the San Francisco Housing Association, authored a hard-hitting report which led to the State Tenement House Act of 1911.
In the 1930s, SFHA continued to advocate for housing concerns. In the 1940s, SFHA merged with Telesis, a group of graduates from UC Berkeley's city planning program, to become the San Francisco Planning and Housing Association in 1942. In the same year, the Association landed another major success with the creation of San Francisco's Department of City Planning.

In the 1950s, SFPHA pushed for the revitalization of San Francisco as the Bay Area's central city, in an effort to curb suburban sprawl and channel growth back into the urban core. In 1959, the San Francisco Planning and Housing Association was reorganized into the San Francisco Planning and Urban Renewal Association—and later, the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association—to be the citizens' voice for good planning.

Over the next five decades, SPUR built support for land use, transportation and investment strategies to support center-oriented growth and urban economic vitality. Since then, SPUR has been involved with virtually every major planning decision in the city.

In May 2009, the opening of the 14,500 square-foot SPUR Urban Center opened a major new chapter in the life of the organization and in civic planning in San Francisco. Located in the heart of the Yerba Buena cultural district, the Urban Center provides a common ground for citizens to come together in fruitful, forward-thinking conversation.

In a city dominated by single-interest politics, SPUR plays the crucial role of uniting citizens to jointly craft solutions to our common problems.

SPUR is a member-supported, nonprofit organization.
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