What will it take for San Franciscans to live safely in their homes after an earthquake?

Safe Enough to Stay, an exhibition opening at SPUR’s Urban Center Gallery on February 7, 2012 highlights the steps the city can take now to help ensure the safety of its residents after the inevitable Big One hits.

Over the past two years, the world has watched as reports of massive earthquakes in New Zealand, Chile, Haiti and Japan have rolled in. And we’ve seen the massive damage done to cities and towns, the deaths and disruption of community life. Can it happen here? Yes…but there are steps we can take to prepare ourselves for inevitable.

Housing is a good place to start: When a major earthquake strikes the Bay Area, a significant amount of San Francisco’s housing may be too damaged to live in while it’s being repaired. The city has a limited number of emergency-shelter beds, and its ability to provide interim housing is minimal. In fact, estimates show that only 75% of the city’s housing stock will provide adequate shelter for its residents after the disaster. This means San Francisco is at risk of losing its most important asset: its people.

Join us at 6 p.m. on February, 7, and explore what it will take to make San Francisco’s housing Safe Enough to Stay. The exhibition will run until April 18, 2012.

For additional info, please see SPUR’s new report, Safe Enough to Stay at http://www.spur.org/safe-enough