A new report by Oakland, CA nonprofit Urban Strategies Council reveals that a massive surge has occurred in investor-speculator ownership in the city's low-income neighborhoods in the wake of the foreclosure crisis.
A new report by the Oakland-based nonprofit Urban Strategies Council shows that-as of October 2011-investors had acquired 42 percent of all properties that went through foreclosure since 2007 in Oakland. Of these properties acquired by investors, 93 percent are located in the low-income flatland neighborhoods of the city. Further, only ten out of the top 30 most active investors are located in Oakland.
The findings in the report raise a series of questions regarding the role that investors are playing-and will continue to play-in Oakland neighborhoods already devastated by the foreclosure crisis. The spike in non-local ownership and non-owner occupied housing presents new concerns related to the extraction of wealth from low-income neighborhoods, in addition to ongoing property maintenance and management issues. Given the nearly exclusive concentration of investor activity in Oakland's low-income neighborhoods, the new report considers what the rapid surge in investor-ownership might mean regarding shifting tenure, neighborhood succession, and the displacement of residents.
FULL STORY: Who Owns Your Neighborhood? The Role of Investors in Post-Foreclosure Oakland
Does Highway Removal Make Cities Healthier?
Highway removal can improve the air quality and health of the immediate environment, but displacement and gentrification threaten to exclude former residents from the benefits.
As Housing Units Multiply, Local Businesses Struggle to Hang On in Downtown Oakland
The city of Oakland, across the bay from San Francisco, is the rare California city quickly adding housing units to the urban core. Local businesses are struggling to hang on as construction changes the fabric of the neighborhood.
Gentrification and Race in the San Francisco Bay Area
A feature article revisits the gentrification and displacement discussion, especially as it pertains to racial and economic demographics, in one of the nation's most troubled and challenging housing markets.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Wind Energy on the Rise Despite Federal Policy Reversal
The Trump administration is revoking federal support for renewable energy, but demand for new projects continues unabated.
Passengers Flock to Caltrain After Electrification
The new electric trains are running faster and more reliably, leading to strong ridership growth on the Bay Area rail system.
Texas Churches Rally Behind ‘Yes in God’s Back Yard’ Legislation
Religious leaders want the state to reduce zoning regulations to streamline leasing church-owned land to housing developers.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service