Oakland

Oakland Adopts Urban Forest Plan to Foster Equity and Environmental Justice
The Oakland City Council has adopted its first Urban Forest Plan, a 50-year roadmap focused on equitable tree care, canopy preservation, and environmental justice to benefit underserved communities.

Oakland Electric School Buses Can Return Power to Grid
The district’s fully electric fleet features vehicle-to-grid technology that lets buses act as batteries when not in use.

‘Facadism:’ Historical Preservation, Fakery—or a Little of Both?
Developers in cities like Oakland, California are turning to vintage architectural elements to inform building renovations, but this repackaging is far from traditional preservation work.

Pittsburgh Moves Ahead With Zoning Changes for University-Adjacent Neighborhood
The implementation of a new master plan for the neighborhood of Oakland, home to the University of Pittsburgh, is moving forward despite controversy and a contentious community engagement process.

Bike Lanes Pitted Against Fire Safety in Oakland
The city’s fire department is pushing back on proposed bike lanes and narrower streets, citing concerns about emergency access.

Closing the Homeownership Knowledge Gap
An Oakland program geared at Black homeowners wants to empower households to understand the opportunities in building and renting accessory dwelling units.

Bay Area Pop-Ups Aim To Activate Vacant Storefronts
As commercial storefronts experience high vacancy rates, cities like Oakland and San Francisco are making concerted efforts to support temporary tenants, public art installations, and small entrepreneurs that can revitalize abandoned spaces.

Oakland to Consider 1,000-Room Homeless Shelter
Oakland, California, will consider a former Army base as the location for its largest shelter as its population of people experiencing homelessness grows.

Lessons From Oakland's Universal Basic Mobility Pilot
A program that distributed prepaid, transit-only debit cards to 500 Oakland residents has been successful in shifting transportation patterns for many of its participants.

A Tour of East Bay ADUs
Now that cities and states are recognizing the potential of middle-density zoning, builders and homeowners are getting creative with Accessory Dwelling Unit designs that minimize costs and maximize comfort.

Zoning for Marijuana: Retail Not Included
Local municipalities in New Jersey retain local control in response to a state law that legalizes marijuana businesses throughout the state.

New Protections for 'Vehicular Residential Facilities' Approved in Oakland
The Oakland City Council this week adopted the Construction Innovation Ordinance.

Sports Stadiums as a Battleground for Affordable Housing
Thanks to new enforcement powers, California's Department of Housing and Community Development can now cite cities for failing to meet affordable housing requirements in stadium redevelopment projects.

Comprehensive Planning Sucks. Here's One Attempt to Make It Better
Thirty community organizations have come together to deliver a response to Oakland's RFP for a comprehensive planning consultant. It's one of three proposals, but certainly the only one with cartoons.

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.

Unpermitted RV Park Faces Code Enforcement Pressure in Oakland
A controversy over the unpermitted use of RVs for shelter on an otherwise empty lot in West Oakland reveals a confluence of Bay Area housing crises.
This Real Estate Co-Op is Looking for Investors Who Want to Put Community First
A real estate co-op in Oakland is making waves with its first commercial acquisition.

Oakland Wants to Make Space for Fourplexes
The city of Oakland in the East Bay Area is a hotbed of planning and development issues, most notably gentrification and the displacement of communities of color. Now the city is considering a drastic change to its zoning code.

The Slow Streets Reckoning
Slow streets programs provided a quick short-term solution and paved the way for some permanent street closures and realignments. Now, these programs are getting a second look as community groups react to the changes.

I-880 Reconfiguration Takes Another Step Forward in Oakland
The Oakland Alameda Access Project, in the works since 1997, is meant to relieve traffic congestion and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists in Oakland's Chinatown neighborhood.
Pagination
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.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research