By any measure, the previous decade has been a period of dramatic change for San Francisco. This unprecedented prosperity for many, however, has failed to address — and even has contributed to — the many challenges our city faces. Our severe housing shortage results in ever-rising rents, displacement and homelessness. We have more transportation options, yet congestion on city streets is greater than ever. Tax revenue collection is booming, yet the city faces gaping budget deficits and pension liabilities into the future.

San Franciscans are dissatisfied with the city’s seeming inability to tackle these challenges, and they are growing increasingly frustrated by a lack of practical solutions and results.

The San Francisco Bay Area Planning & Urban Research Association was formed more than 100 years ago, in the wake of the 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire, to bring people together from across the political spectrum to take on our city’s challenges.

Though the challenges of 2018 are different, they demand the same focus and approach. As the mayoral election approaches, SPUR offers here a platform of specific policy goals and practical solutions for our city. “A Blueprint for Change: for San Francisco” is grounded in SPUR’s policy research, complemented by significant input from community leaders and subject matter experts.

On June 5, San Francisco voters will elect a new mayor to lead the city for up to 10 years. We hope the new mayor, along with members of the Board of Supervisors, will embrace these specific policy ideas set out here:

Housing: Eliminate unnecessary city requirements to bring the cost of building housing down and get housing approved faster; and work to secure additional funding for affordable housing. Additionally, depoliticize the process that sets the amount of affordable housing developers must include in new construction. The current law, adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2017, is economically infeasible and has effectively halted new construction. Embrace factory-built or “modular” housing construction, which is cheaper and faster to assemble. Encourage modest multifamily housing in single-family home neighborhoods, and initiate new neighborhood plans to reasonably increase height and density along corridors close to public transit.

Homelessness and street behavior: Living on the street is simply unacceptable; it is demeaning to our fellow human beings and a betrayal of our progressive values. The next mayor must double down on strategies to prevent homelessness such as expanded rent subsidies, rapid rehousing, and funding the right to civil counsel. The city must dramatically scale up our short-term shelters by up to 2,000 beds and expand mental health services and treatment beds. Separately, the next mayor must reassert standards for safe behavior by enforcing existing quality-of-life laws and pairing trained police officers with social service and public health professionals in our homeless street outreach.

Transportation: Reaffirm “Transit First” principles by prioritizing Muni and other transportation alternatives to private vehicle ownership. Build the Downtown Extension tunnel to the new Transbay Center, begin construction on a second transbay rail line, move forward on the promise of the Geary Street and Geneva-Harvey Bus Rapid Transit Lines, and overhaul the M-Line. Deliver on our Vision Zero bike and pedestrian safety commitments by creating at least 30 more miles of physically protected bike lanes on our highest-injury corridors, and build out the Embarcadero as our next major bikeway. Explore initiating downtown congestion pricing and converting curb use from car parking to pickup/drop-off space for ride-hail services and delivery vehicles. Finally, identify specific revenue sources and rally public and voter support to secure funding for these critical transportation investments.

Fiscal health and good government: San Francisco’s budget grew from $6 billion to $10 billion in just a decade, yet still we face looming budget shortfalls. The next mayor will have to deal with these costs, and almost certainly navigate a recession, by negotiating changes to retiree pension and health care costs, fully eliminating the payroll tax on employers, and enacting other sensible budget reforms. In addition, we must reform the process by which initiatives are placed on the ballot to make it harder for a handful of politicians or special interests to crowd the local ballot with politically self-serving or frivolous measures.

Sustainability and resilience: San Francisco is already a leader on sustainability and resilience, but we can do more. The next mayor must fully plan for earthquakes and sea-level rise, rebuild our aging sewer system and fix the crumbling seawall, beginning with the passage of a general obligation bond in November.

As a city, we must harness the energy, the dynamism and the wealth of San Francisco to do more and do better for all our people — those here today, and those who will come tomorrow.

We hope the next mayor will embrace these ideas and act urgently, along with the members of the Board of Supervisors, on her or his first day in office. We also ask San Francisco residents to get informed, get involved and vote — because the challenges we face demand public advocacy and accountability like never before.

Adhi Nagraj is the San Francisco director of SPUR, the San Francisco Bay Area Planning & Urban Research Association. Go online to spur.org/blueprintforchangesf for more information.