Perspectives

Five years after Ghost Ship: How local organizations are fighting artist displacement

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Oakland’s industrial zone bustled with canneries, metal works and warehouses. As the global economy changed, industries moved out and artists moved in. The low-rent buildings, with their vaulted interiors, were suitable for live-work studios.  Over the years, landlords looked the other way as tenants nested in spaces that were never coded for housing. On Dec. 2, 2016, the deadliest fire in Oakland history broke out in the Ghost Ship, a former warehouse in Fruitvale…

Slow but steady change to design bike and walk friendly cities

Ambitious questions about mobility, equity, housing, and safe streets in Oakland were heavily featured during a panel talk at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) on Monday evening. Around 100 mostly young professionals and design enthusiasts attended the event, held at SPUR’s downtown Oakland meeting space, across the street from a recently-renovated plaza. Staff from the urban planning policy think tank, with offices serving San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco, organized the event in partnership with Citylab,…

“Intelligent Lives” documentary screening highlights educational needs of students with intellectual disabilities

On Monday evening, parents, students and providers of special needs education in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) gathered at the Cole Campus to watch the premiere of Intelligent Lives, a documentary by filmmaker Dan Habib. “This movie is a tool to transform and change the label of intellectual disability from a life sentence of isolation,” he said as he spoke from New York in a recorded message to the viewing audience. Parents and educators watched attentively as the documentary…

Documentary screening and gallery exhibition highlight border towns, draw somber crowd

Amidst chilly Friday night winds, people gathered at Lake Merritt Tower to watch Undeterred, a film highlighting the effect that the increased militarization of border towns has on surrounding communities. The event included a screening of the film and a gallery exhibition titled “Recognition: Labor Meets Art in Explorations of Social Justice and Identity,” which was open for its last night of public viewing. The event was organized by National Nurses United union and featured talks by members of the…

Oakland prepares to move homeless to new “Northgate Cabins” site

In late April, in a formerly empty lot at the corner of Northgate Avenue and 27th Street in Oakland, the city installed 20 sheds that will house up to 40 people who are currently living on the street. This area, being referred to by the city as the “Northgate Cabins,” is supposed to serve as the first step toward transitional, and eventually permanent, housing for homeless folks who live in nearby encampments. According to officials in the City Administrator’s Office,…

Tales of Two Cities: While You Were Sleeping

On this episode we bring you stories about curious people and the things they do while we’re sleeping. Tune in to hear stories about: a therapist helping people through hypnosis, a new mom staying up with her newborn, the graveyard shift at the BART station and a late-night laundromat that’s never quiet.