Continuing our series of member profiles, this month we're happy to feature the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, or SPUR.  By joining AAO, you'll get to rub elbows with your peers at great organizations like SPUR.  Be sure to check out their website and great publication, The Urbanist,  and consider joining AAO today! 

San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association

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. After several different iterations over the subsequent decades, the organization finally became the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association in the 1950’s—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 a city dominated by single-interest politics, SPUR plays the crucial role of uniting citizens to jointly craft solutions to our common problems.

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.

The Urban Center serves as SPUR's new headquarters. The four-story building houses all of SPUR's activities, including:

• research and advocacy by policy directors
• frequent policy committee and task force meetings
• meetings with civic leaders and allied organizations
• lunchtime and evening forums and panel discussions   
• an urban affairs library and resource center
• permanent and rotating exhibitions 

SPUR's expanded work in the Urban Center will focus on educational programs in good government, public policy, urban planning and design with the ultimate goal of engaging citizens in SPUR's work and in the issues that affect the entire region.

Each month, AAO will highlight a member organization in order to share their programs, ideas, and the great work that AAO members do every day. This month, we feature the Rice Design Alliance in Houston, TX. 

The Rice Design Alliance was the first Founding Member of AAO, and we thought it was only fitting to feature them first. When Linda Sylvan, Executive Director of the Rice Design Alliance and Inaugural Board Member of AAO was asked about why she became a member of AAO, she said  "I enjoy being with like-minded people who share the same challenges and passion about the built environment as I do. I now have colleagues from all over the U.S. and abroad from whom I can learn and share best practices."  Well put Linda!  Won't you consider becoming an organizational member of AAO, and connect, learn, and share with people like Linda all over the world?

The Rice Design Alliance

The Rice Design Alliance is dedicated to advancing architecture, urban design, and the built environment in the Houston region through educational programs, the publication of Cite, and programs to initiate physical improvements. We seek to enhance the quality of life within our community.

In 1972 the Rice Design Alliance (RDA) was organized by a small group of academicians and civic-minded community members under the leadership of David A. Crane, then dean of the Rice School of Architecture. Since its founding 37 years ago, RDA has grown to more than 2,400 members and has emerged as the preeminent public forum in Houston for critique, programming, and discussion of design and the built environment.
RDA has brought to Houston leading designers, critics, theorists, and planners through its educational programs and quarterly publication, Cite: The Architecture + Design Review of Houston, which has been published continuously since 1982.

RDA’s program offerings continue to evolve and grow. The annual fall and spring lecture series, residential architecture tours, and presentations by architects has increased to include two or three forums on topics of civic importance, city architecture study tours, a lecture by the recipient of Spotlight: The RDA Prize; and the Sally Walsh Lecture with the Architecture Center Houston Foundation. RDA also publishes four issues of Cite a year, organizes charettes to tackle urban issues, offers a grant program, and sponsors design competitions. RDA has organized four national competitions, two of which have resulted in significant civic improvements for downtown Houston (Sesquicentennial Park, 1985) and Hermann Park (Heart of the Park, 1992).

In 2008, RDA, AIA Houston, and the Architecture Center Houston Foundation sponsored the 99K House Competition for an affordable, sustainable house that attracted 182 entries from 29 states and 16 countries. The winning design has been built on a donated lot in Houston’s Fifth Ward, a working-class neighborhood, and will serve as a prototype for affordable house design. An RDA charette in the same year called for a bridge to unite segments of Memorial Park and resulted in a design for a Living Bridge that the Memorial Park Conservancy has completed.

RDA members are from diverse backgrounds, including architects and designers, city planners and developers, real estate agents, community activists, artists, and civic-minded individuals. The common thread is a commitment to enhancing the quality of life within the community through learning, discussion, and innovation. Though Rice University is the physical home of the organization, the alliance includes scholars from the University of Houston and other institutions. Support for RDA comes from individuals, corporate sponsorship, and foundations, including the Houston Arts Alliance and the National Endowment for the Arts.