BAAQMD Final Report July1

8/8/2019 BAAQMD Final Report July1

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Prepared by Ecocity Builders

For the Bay Area Air Quality Management District

June 30, 2009

Ecocity Mapping or

Urban Villages


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SECTION I RESHAPING CITIES FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE 5Ecocity Mapping for Urban VillagesVillage Bottoms Action Plan

GreenhouseGasBenetsofUrbanVillages

Overview of this Report

SECTION II MAPPING OAKLANDS URBAN VILLAGES 11 BueringWalkabilityTresholds OaklandsUrbanVillages

Identifying Potential Urban Villages

SECTION III TOOLS FOR IMPLEMENTING URBAN VILLAGES 17

IN OAKLANDGeneral Plan AmendmentsForm-Based Codes Amendment to Zoning

Financial Mechanism Supporting Urban VillagesTransfer of Development Rights Ordinance

SECTION IV COMMUNITY OUTREACH & SITE SELECTION 28 Inv ent or y of Vi ta li ty Att ri but es inWestOakl and

Notes from Analysis and Community InterviewsCommunity Outreach: Urban Releaf

Community Outreach: Village Bottoms CDC

Mapping Community Resources

Acknowledgements

Thisprojecthastodatebenetedfromthegenerous

contributions of time, talent and resources of many individuals.Wewouldlikeinparticulartorecognizecommunityleaders:

Marcel Diallo, Letitia Ntofon and Sharifah Ishan from Vil lageBottoms Community Development Corporation and Village

Bottoms Neighborhood Association for their courage, conviction,

and ongoing guidance and inspiration, especially on the VillageBottoms Action Plan itself which is their vision.

ThankyoutoKembaShakurandthestaofUrbanReleafforco-

designingandlaunchingtheinitialon-the-groundWestOakland

urban village analysis.

AspecialacknowledgementgoestoWillAllen,CEOofGrowingPowerinMilwaukeeWisconsinalongwithGrowingPower'ssta

who have provided ongoing support for the Village Bottomsfarm operation launched during this project timeframe by Village

Bottoms Community Development Corporation.

Closertohome,we'dtothankallthepeopleandbusinesses

whohavehelpedwithgrantawards,donationsandin-kindcontributions, including:

-DanielDimitriandKaiserPermanente'sCommunityBenets

Program;- Foundation for Sustainability and Innovation;

- Paul Discoe and LiveEdge;-JeMiller,MillerCompanyLandscapeArchitects;

-CaliforniaWasteSolutions;-It'saGrindCoeeHouse,and

-PacicCoastBrewingCompany.

Wewouldalsoliketosincerelythankallthemanyindividualsandorganizationswhogaveinput,adviceanddirectionthrough

interviews, conversations and meetings to discuss the urban

village approach to sustainable development. They are toonumerous to list here but their names and contact information

can be found in Section IV: Community Outreach of thisreport.Severalkeyindividualsdostandoutandneedspecial

acknowledgement,theyare:Dr.WashingtonBurns,Director

of the Prescott Joseph Center for Community EnhancementandBruceBuckelew,Founder/DirectorofOaklandTechnology

ExchangeWest.

Much of the community outreach and interviews were conductedbyourprojectpartnerWesternInstituteofSocialResearch

(WISR).TheirteamincludesJohnBilorusky,VeraLabat,Monika

Scott,NzingaPace,JudyAndreas,andShyaamShabaka.

The Ecocity Builders team is as follows:- Kirstin Miller, Project Director;

- Richard Register, Project Co-director;

-RickSmith,DavidReidandStephanieHsia,GISmappingandanalysis;

- Christian Runge, Village Bottoms Action Plan illustrativeconcepts and graphic design;

-JaneWardani,mapping,editing,layoutanddesign;- Caitlin Cameron, Pine Street Master Pl an and plan rendering;

-GeoreyHolton,PhoenixIronworkssketchesandconceptual

drawings.

Lastbutnotleast,we'dliketooerourdeepappreciationtotheBay Area Air Quality Management District, without whom this

project would not have been possible.

Contents


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Cities are approaching an era of new challenges, including meeting energy

and transportation needs in a time of growing energy constraints, reshapingthebuiltenvironmenttotarenewableenergyfuture,relocalizingthe

economy through sustainable businesses and industries, and increasing food

security through locally supportive agriculture.

Our main premise is that the sustainable human settlement of the future

needstobecomelessablanketofdevelopmentaccessedbycarsandmore

anetworkofwalkableurbanvillageslinkedbytransitandconnectedtoa strong downtown center, with room for urban agriculture, urban stream

corridors and greenways.

The problem is fairly simple: cities are too thinly spread out. They require

vast amounts of land and energy and pump climate-changing gases into the

atmosphere because they are automobile dependent. The answer: reshape

cities so that their vital centers neighborhood centers, district centers anddowntowns become more diverse in their activities and more compact in

their built form.

In this report, we present a strategy to enable this shifting of existing

developmenttowardsincreasinglyhealthyurbanvillagesofdierentscales,

from very small to large. In the process, cities will emerge that conserve land

and energy, from their basic layout on up through their buildings cities thatalso save money, time and health.

Reshaping Cities or a Healthier Future

SECTION I

SECTION V VILLAGE BOTTOMS ACTION PLAN 37Analysis

Neighborhood History

Pine Street Timeline

Neighborhood Opportunities VitalityClustersinWestOakland

Site Constraints and PotentialArmature: Structure and Flexibility

Village Bottoms Cultural DistrictConceptual Plans

Perspective Renderings

SECTION VI GREENHOUSE GAS BENEFITS OF URBAN

VILLAGES AND PROPOSED ACTION PLAN 53Citywide AnalysisProposed Action Plan Analysis

Soul Food Co-op Grocery

Village Bottoms Farms VillageWirelessNetwork

IncreasingBiking

CONCLUSION 65

APPENDIX I DRAFT TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS

ORDINANCE 66

Contents (contd)


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Village Bottoms Action Plan

Through an initial process of interviews and assessment, the

neighborhood we found most interested in exploring the mapping

andthedensityshiftingapproachwastheLowerBottomsneighborhoodofWestOakland.Thebottomswasoncethe

marshy low-lying fringe on San Francisco Bay. The area waslledandelevatedforbuildingsandstreetsintheearlydaysof

Oaklandsdevelopment.EcocityBuilderscolselycollaboratedwith the Village Bottoms Community Development Corporation,

aCalifornianonprot,inexploringtheproject,lookingat

architecturalpreservation,agriculturalrevitalizationandnewdevelopment all at the same time.

The Village Bottoms Action Plan presented in this report was

crafted through a collaborative community process and is basedon the goals and objectives of the residents. The Plan is anchored

by a vitality and needs assessment and inventory and, whenimplemented,wouldneedtobesupportedbyspecicgeneralplan

policiesandzoning,andeconomic(re)developmentstrategiessimilar to those we are recommending in this report and

coordinated with local and regional land use and transportation

agencies.

The plans focus is anchored on historic Pine Street between7thStreetand12thStreet,linkingtheemergingCentralStation

neighborhooddevelopmentsiteandthealreadyestablishedWest

OaklandBARTTransit-OrientedDevelopment.

Thebiggestbeneciary,however,isthebiosphereitselfintheform of a more stable climate and a better chance of survival

for humans and other living species. There are problems to

besurmountedandbenetstobegainedintheprocess.Themain premise, though, is that cities can be reshaped to confront

climate, ecological, economic and social justice problems all atonce.

Ecocity Mapping or Urban Villages

In this report we demonstrate an innovative and strategic

approach to mapping and planning for healthy humansettlements and natural systems. The method combines science

and technology with community education, outreach and input

to describe, communicate, and achieve a shared vision for just and

sustainable cities moving towards balance with natural systems.

By applying overlay analysis and adopting corresponding

zoning,policies,ordinancesandactionplans,existinglandandenergy intensive infrastructure is reshaped to create compact

centerswherepeoplelive,workandplaysurroundedbygreen

agriculturalandrecreationalareas.Thesecentersminimizetravel,aordquickaccesstoopenspaceandsustainableagricultureand

emphasizeurbanformwithinanaturalcontext.

Initially developed in the mid-1980s on paper, Ecocity Builders

nowisusinggeographicinformationsystems(GIS)andsuitabilitymodelingpioneeredbyIanMcHarg(1969)toorganizeand

analyzeinformationaboutcommunitiesintheirnaturalcontextsand identify and inventory vitality centers, or, as Ecocity Builders

isphrasingthisactivityinourcurrentpilotwork,urbanvillages.The resulting inventories can then be used as a visual road map to

the future.

7 Steps to Ecocity Mapping

Step1)ProducealocalnaturalhistorymapRevealshistoricalcreekchannels,indigenouslivelihoods,andculturalexchanges embodied in the neighborhood landscape. Important not only

for recreational and learning opportunities, but also for avoiding potential

natural disasters.

Step2)EstablishwalkablevitalitycentersIdentiesaccessbyproximity-within1/4milewalkingdistance-tojobs,shopping, healthcare, education, community gathering and other services.

Step3)Zoneoutwardstonaturecorridorsandagriculture

At each quarter-mile increment, the the urban village becomes less dense.Adjustzonesaccordingtoreliefandnaturalformssuchascreeks.

Step4)IdentifykeygatewaysandviewsStreets ending perpendicular to a river and railroad right-of-ways areof particular value as gateways for goods and services and as potential

locationsofkeyholeplazaoeringaviewintotheurbanvillage.Disused railroads can be used as a pedestrian or bicycle greenway.

Step5)RenderverticalcrosssectionsVisualizewithneighborhoodresidentscreativeoptionsforthethird

dimension that allow people to interact not just on the street level, but

throughopenairskyways,andcafes.

Step6)Providealegendforthemapofvitalitycenters

Step7)AddscenariomapsSince there are often many solutions for building an ecocity, show asmanyscenariosasthecommunitywouldliketosee.

Greenhouse Gas Benets o Urban Villages

Potentially applicable to any city, the Ecocity Mapping forUrbanVillagesapproachtoplanningenablessignicantdemand

reduction for transportation fuel, thereby contributing to solving

climate change. At the same time, peoples lives will be mademuch more convenient. For people concerned with economical

living, especially lower income individuals, seniors and families,the arrangement can mean freedom from supporting a car

nancially,savinganaveragepersonaround$10,000ayear

while doing more than almost any other approach for reducinggreenhousegasses.Thegreenhousegas(GHG)benetsofEcocity

MappingforUrbanVillagescanberealizedatthreescales:city,neighborhood and the planet. Good urban design and planning at

all three scales is crucial.

City Scale

Thecity,mankindsbasiceconomicengineofproductionand

container of culture and social life, can be thought of as a whole-system, analogous to a living organism. It is the largest creation

of our species and constitutes our single greatest impact on

nature, resources and the biosphere. Ecocity Mapping for UrbanVillageslookscloselyatprinciplesthatcanrapidlymoveusin

the direction of reversing the damage of climate change. Thecompact,mixed-usenatureofurbanvillagesorvitalitycenters

of increasing density and functional diversity, paired with theremoval of energy-intensive, low density development, means

thattransportationisminimizedandshiftedtolow-energyor

non-motorizedtransport.Thegoalistogetpeopleoutoftheircarsandintowalkableneighborhoods,bikablecitiesandtransit

ecient/sucientmetropolitanregions.Thecompactdiversityoffunctions is the guiding principle.


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Life in a car-free urban vill age center in a multi-family dwelling iseasilyquantiablerelativetolifeinasingle-familyhousewitha

car. The latter simply uses up much more energy.

The compact nature of Urban Vil lage design, with apartments

and condominiums, reduces the energy demand the sprawlingmodel of detached single residencies, saving enormous amounts

of energy for i n-building temperature and climate control. Single

detached residences are not only wasteful in their low-densityarrangement dependent on private cars, paving, and enormous

owsofcheapfuels,butalsoinheatingandcooling.Energyusedforheatingandcoolingasingledetachedhomeleakingfrom

the surface of the house is lost to human purposes after just oneuse. In apartments and condominiums, shared walls mean shared

heatingandcoolingatgreatecienciesbeforethesurfaceofthe

building loses its climate control energy to the air outside.

Therearealsoancillaryeects,whichcanbequantiedatprojected points into the future and described by assumptions

of speed with which the Ecocity Mapping and Urban Villages

initiative is implemented. For example, if buildings farther fromthe urban village centers are removed by willing-seller transfer

of development rights deals, while density and diversity ofdevelopment is added in the centers, then farming, recreation

and education can move closer to consumers. Food can be grownrelatively close to neighborhood centers on formerly paved, lawn-

covered or rooftop-displaced land. That means healthier, fresher

food requiring less energy to ship.

Withcreeksandurbanstreams,ridgelines,shorelineandothernatural features restored as buildings are removed farther

from centers, recreational and educational trips to nature and

become very short. Replacing an estimated fraction of such tripsbycarwithlocalwalksorbicycleridestonearbylandscapes

and waterscapes save the energy that would be required for

such trips by car not to mention energy savings from lessinfrastructure and vehicles (asphalt, concrete, cars, gasoline and

oilinfrastructure)thathavetobebuilttoaccomplishsuchtrips.

Neighborhood Scale

NeighborhoodssuchastheLowerBottomsinWestOakland

where the Urban Villages project is proceeding, and larger

neighborhood centers which might be thought of as city districtcenters, such as the Fruitvale Village area and Chinatown,

alreadysaveenergydirectlyandhavespecicclimatebenets.The energy use required for living in these area s is less than in

thelower-densityareasofthecity.Thewaytothinkaboutthesustainable development potential inside the neighborhood

centersistothinkofnegrainneighborhooddesignthatshifts

toward vital, active cultural and commercial clusters.

Likeatthecitywidescale,transportationenergyconservation,buildingenergyconservationandancillarybenetscanbe

realizedattheneighborhoodsscale.Asvitalityanddiversityof

functions increase, and at very close distances, a move towardsmoremulti-familyunitswouldimprovewalkability,health,

and overall quality of life free from cars. Energy savings fromgreaterheatingandcoolingeciencyalsooccurinmulti-family

residential buildings at the neighborhood scale.

Withthedensicationofneighborhoodcenters,landatthe

periphery of neighborhoods can be opened up for open spaceuses. These include food production, restoration of elements of

the natural environment, recycling areas, and sports and passiverecreationareassuchasparksandbicycleandpedestrianpaths.

In the case of areas of historic importance, as the Lower BottomsisimportantintheBlackculturalhistoryofOaklandandthe

whole country, there are a considerable number of architectural

gems that should be preserved. Many are single-family houses.Onesolutiontodensifysuchinfrastructureistoraisesomeof

the structures a story or two and allow for mixed uses, a desire

expressed by many residents in the area. Enlarging interiorvolume in this manner supports energy conservation and ground-

oorculturalandbusinessactivitiesthatmanyresidentswant.

Global Scale

The largest climate impact of the Ecocity Mapping system and

Urban Villages initiative would be at the world scale. Thereare already many good approaches that involve mapping and

community development that increase density around transithubsandmakedowntownsandmajordistrictcentersofcities

more vital and pedestrian-oriented. These approaches address

increasing population in cities that come from international orregional in-migration and very slow natural increase (though

somecitiesareactuallyshrinkingatthistime).TheAssociationofBayAreaGovernments(ABAG)andtheMetropolitan

TransportationCommission(MTC)supportandhelpdevelop

suchplansandresourcesdirectingsuchchanges,knownoftenasTransit-OrientedDevelopment(TOD).

But these TOD planning approaches do not yet deal with the

entire big picture: that cities in the United States and many otherparts of the world cover far more la nd for their populations than

cities that were built before cars, such as those in many parts of

Europe.Wecannotignorethatthelanduseandbuiltformwesee today are a direct result to planning around the automobile.

Whatifthegoalweretodiscoverthepreferredsizesandshapesof ecologically healthy and car-free cities?

Whatisneededistheconfrontationwiththesplayedoutcityitself and the necessity to remove thousands of acres of low-

density, car-dependent development. One could say that in

America there are thousands, even millions of acres of futurenatural and agricultural land yearning to breathe free. These

millions of acres are buried under the suburbs, but are al so buried

under land inside major cities borders.

There needs to be both sides of the transition represented inplanningthatleadstoanewapproachdealingeectivelywith

climate change. More density in one place needs to be paired

with the removal of low-density development somewhere else.Onlythenwewillhavethemodelformaking21stcenturycities

genuinely sustainable and energy-conserving enough to stopand perhaps even begin reversing global heating.

It is often said that if the United States moves to deal with

climate change and China or India do not, then why bother and

maybefaceanunknowneconomicsituation?Citiescanhavethe same attitude, avoiding any seri ous confrontation with their

land use demands on transportation. On the other hand, they canconfronttheproblemwithforward-thinkinglanddevelopment

policiesandtakealeadershiprolewithintheUnitedStates,

andamodeltotheworld.Howcansmallneighborhoodsmakeadierence?Simplybyshowingthewaywecangowhenwe

understand the bigger picture. The changes that are right for thetime can be contagious even as far away as India and China.


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BAAQMD Deliverables

Ecocity Mapping for Urban Villages technique applied to the

CityofOakland&VillageBottomsneighborhood

UrbanVillageszoningoverlaymapwithrecommendations

forpotentialVitalityCenters

Community Outreach Process

Review of the Land Use and Transportation Element of theOaklandGeneralPlanandtheZoningOrdinance

Policy Recommendations for Implementing Urban Villages:

- General Plan Amendments- Form-Based Codes- Draft Transfer of Development Rights Ordinance

Village Bottoms Action Plan: Analysis and recommendationsforspecicanddetailedlandusechanges

Analysis of the potential greenhouse gas impacts of

implementing the Action Plan

Overview o this Report

This report constitutes a scan of a whole city and then

develops the idea of what would happen on the ground to one

neighborhood.Wehopetoprovideacompleteecocitymapandclarifytheideaenoughtomakeitavailabletothepublicand

decisionmakers,potentiallyinanyandallcities.

In Section II, Mapping Oaklands Centers o Vitality , wedemonstrate an application of the Ecocity Mapping for Urban

VillagestechniquetotheCityofOakland.

Section III, Tools or Implementing Urban Villages, we present

recommendations for policy changes and innovations thatencourage the development of Urban Villages, by attracting a

diversity of land uses and shifting densities to augment vitality.A draft Transer o Development Ordinance is enclosed as anAppendix.

Our extensive community outreach process, in partnership with

WesternInstituteforSocialResearch(WISR)isdocumentedinSection IV, Community Outreach & Site Selection.

Section V, Village Bottoms Action Plan outlines the vision fortherevitalizationoftheVillageBottomsCulturalDistrictcrafted

through a collaborative community process with the VillageBottoms Community Development Corporation.

Finally, in Section VI, Greenhouse Gas Benets o Urban

Villages and Proposed Actions, we provide quantitative details

of greenhouse gas emission reductions of the Urban VillagesapproachinOakland.Weshowthedierencethatstrategic

actionintheVillageBottomsCulturalDistrictcanmakeinreducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Theland-useplanningandurbandesignliteraturesuggestsmodelsandkey

indicators of vitality that lower carbon e missions through the reduction ofvehicle miles traveled. Many of these models are complex and require a great

dealofdataandexpertisetoanalyzeandimplement.Inpartnershipwith

theBayAreaAirQualityManagementDistrictandtheWesternInstitutefor

Social Research, Ecocity Builders has developed a simple model that uses onlyArcGIS9.3andaspreadsheetsoftware.WeapplythismodeltotheCityof

Oaklandinordertoidentifyandinventoryvitalitycentersthatcouldserveas

centers of future urban villages.

Wecalculatedgreenhousegasemissionreductionsbasedonthereductionof

non-worktrips,specicallygrocerystoretrips.Thesameprocedureusedincalculating greenhouse gas emission reductions may be used for other land-

use and transportation changes, such as shorter commutes and multi-family

versus single-family residential land-uses. Detailed analyses of greenhouse

gasemissionreductionsforOaklandandforourproposedActionPlanareoutlined in Section VI.

EcocityBuildershasbeenworkingwithcitiesworldwideforoveradecadeonwaystondandbuildcentersthatminimizegreenhousegasemissions

from transportation. The concept is simple: A vital center is a place where

residentscanmeetalmostalloftheirdailyneedswithinwalkingdistance.

Using a simple raster-based model for analysis, we began by identifyingconcentrations of amenities.

Mapping Oaklands Urban Villages

SECTION II


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ThevecategoriesofamenityweidentiedintheCityofOaklandwere:

1)Grocerystores,excludingconvenienceandliquorstores

2)Transitstops,suchasbusstopsandBARTstations3)Restaurants

4)Educationalinstitutions5)Parksandopenspaces.

Usingtherastermodel,weanalyzeddistancesfromresidentialparcels to areas with at least one of the above categories of

amenity. This helps answer the question,How ar will I haveto travel rom home to access what I need?Werstdidthis

independentofcurrentland-useandzoningdesignations.

Wethendrewringbuersaroundamenitycentersaccording

totransportationandland-useplanningconventions,deningaquarter-milewalkabilitythresholdforgrocerystores,transit

stops, and restaurants; a third-mile threshold for educationalinstitutions,andahalf-milethresholdforparksandopenspaces.

Rastercellswithinthespeciedthresholdhaveavalueofone

point.Addingupthelayersofareaswithinwalkabilitythresholdsof these amenities, we assessed the level of vitality according to

the number of amenities found within an area. The higher thenumberofamenities(1-5),thehigherthelevelofvitality.We

identiedareasofvitalitytoberesidentialareaswithallveamenitieswithinwalkingdistance.

Next,wefactoredinland-useandzoningdesignationsandlookedforthecommercialretaildistrictthatanchorsthevital

center.Specically,wedrewquarter-mileradiiaroundthecenterpoints of the areas of vitality from the previous step. Then, we

identiedlanduseswithinthisquarter-mileradii,andextracted

areasdesignatedasCommunityCommercialandNeighborhoodCentersintheCityofOaklandGeneralPlan.

GroceryStores

Land Use

& ZoningDesignations

Community

Input

Finding

Centersof Vitality

Transit

Stops

Restaurants

Schools

Parks&

Open

Spaces

within1/4m

ile

within1/4mile

within 1/4 mile

within

1/3m

ile

with

in1/4

mile

Within 1/4 mile o

grocery stores

Within 1/4 mile o

transit stops

Within 1/4 mile o

restaurants

Within 1/3 mile oschools

Within 1/2 mile oparks

1 amenity

2 amenities

3 amenities

4 amenities

5 amenities

Level o vitality

Bufering Walkability Thresholds Around Amenities to Assess Level o Vitality


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Finding centerpoints o areas o vitality 1/4-mile radius around centerpoints

Identiying land uses within1/4-mile radius o centerpoints

Extracting areas designated as CommunityCommercialand Neighborhood Centers,

with centerpoints shown

Weidentiedcenterpointsofareasdesignated

asCommunityCommercialandNeighborhood

Centers,toensurethatitislocatedonanon-residential parcel.

WethendenedUrbanVillagestobeareas

withinwalkingdistance(i.e.aquartermile)fromboth these center points of areas designated as

CommunityCommercialandNeighborhood

Centersaswellasfromtheareasthemselves.

Identiying Potential Vitality Centers

AreaszonedasCommunityCommercialand

NeighborhoodCentersarenotnecessarily

successful vitality centers. Some may be missingcertain amenities. To identify potential vitality

centers to further develop the Urban Villageapproach at the neighborhood scale, we conducted

a second set of analyses by identifying areas

withinwalkingdistanceofallareasdesignatedasNeighborhoodCentersandCommunity

CommercialintheCityofOaklandGeneralPlan.

Our analyses revealed additional potential vitalitycenters,suchasGoldenGate,WestOakland,

Temescal, Montclair, Mills, Eastmont, and

Elmhurst. However, these areas did not show upin our amenity-based analysis because they are

lackingoneormoreofthevevitalamenitieswewerelookingfor.Forexample,WestOaklandlacks

a grocery store that is not a convenience or liquor

store, and Montclair is not served by a transitconnection more frequently than every half hour.

1/4 mile buer around Community

Commercial and Neighborhood Centers

1/4 mile radius around centerpoints ocommercial retail district

Oaklands Urban Villages

Rockridge

Piedmont

Ghost Town

Pill Hill/Art Murmur

Dimond

Fruitvale Village

Coliseum

Grand Lake


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Through an environmental and social justice lens,

and a community outreach process, we sel ected

WestOaklandasapilotsitethatcandemonstratethe Ecocity Mapping for Urban Villages approach

todecision-makersandthegeneralpublic.Historicallyaneighborhoodmarginalizedby

freeway construction, disproportionately burdenedby air pollution impacts from its proximity to

freewaysandthePortofOakland,WestOaklands

low-income and predominantly African-Americanresidents have further expressed its dire need for a

quality grocery store in their neighborhood. Ourapproachthusseekstopromoteinvestmentinthis

area of potential vitality and strengthen an ageing

and much neglected neighborhood in the face of afuture of climate change uncertainties.

In the next section, we outline policy tools that

encourage urban villages, based on a review of thecurrentCityofOaklandGeneralPlanandZoning

and Transfer of Development Rights ordinances.

Wethendescribethecommunityinvolvementprocessthatwasessentialasbotharealitycheck

andawaytocustomizethevalues,dataandinformation used in the model.

Tools or Implementing Urban Villages

SECTION III

To support the changes in land uses, urban form, and densities envisioned

in the Urban Villages approach, Ecocity Builders recommends the following

policy shifts and amendments based on an extensive review of current City ofOaklanddevelopmentpracticesandregulations:

1.Amendthe1998LandUseandTransportationElement(LUTE)oftheCityofOaklandGeneralPlan

2.AmendCityofOaklandsZoningOrdinanceusingForm-BasedCodestoencourage diversity of land uses within Urban Villages

3.Createanancialmechanismforinfrastructureandpublicimprovementstosupport the Transportation Hierarchy and the Urban Village

4.RevisetheTransferofDevelopmentRightsOrdinanceoftheCityofOaklandtoshiftdensitiestowardsUrbanVillages/vitalitycentersandcreateadditionalopen space and conservation areas

Oaklands Urban Villages and Potential Vitality Centers

Rockridge

Piedmont

Ghost Town

Pill Hill

Dimond

Fruitvale Village

Coliseum

Grand Lake

Golden Gate

West Oakland

Jack LondonSquare

Temescal

Montclair

Mills

Eastmont

San Antonio

98th/International


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2. Amend City o Oaklands Zoning Ordinance usingForm-Based Codes to Regulate Urban Villages

The Urban Village approach focuses to a greater extent on form

ratherthanspecicusesasperconventionalzoning.WearethereforerecommendingthatOaklandandothercitiesinterested

intheecocity/urbanvillagesapproachconsiderapplyinganUrbanVillageform-basedcodes(FBC)asanoverlayorsubstitute

conventionalzoningbasedonlanduses.

ThefollowingdraftFBCzoningoverlayframeworkisbasedon

the concept of the transects. As shown in this diagram, a transectin nature is a geographical cross-section of a region intended

to reveal a sequence of environments. It helps study the many

symbiotic elements that contribute to habitats where certain

plants and animals thrive.

To guide the transition to a form to the built environment that is

in closer balance with living systems and based on the principal ofaccessbyproximityandwalkabledistances,theEcocityTransect

isdividedintoveT-zonesforapplicationonzoningmaps.These

vezonesvarybytheratioandlevelofintensityoftheirnatural,built, and social components. They are coordinated to all scales of

planning, from the region through the community scale down tothe individual lot and building.

Further study and development would be require to build outa comprehensive Ecocity Transect, along with public input and

consultation that would go hand-in-hand with the developmentof citywide Ecocity Mapping and Urban Village Action Plans. In

thisway,webelieve,theFBCwouldmorelikelytoachievethedesired results of healthy and sustainable development that is

informed by the culture and design preferences of the residents

themselves.

What are Form-Based Codes?

Form-basedcodesoeramethodofregulatingdevelopmenttoachieveaspecicurbanformandcreateapredictablepublic

realm primarily by controlling physical form, with a l esser focus

on land use, through city or county regulations.

Form-basedcodesseektoinuenceorregulate:- The relationship between building facades and the public realm

- The form and mass of buildings in relation to one another-Thescaleandtypesofstreetsandblocks.

The regulations and standards in Form-based codes, presentedinbothdiagramsandwords,arekeyedtoaregulatingplan

that designates the appropriate form and scale (and therefore,

character)ofdevelopmentratherthanonlydistinctionsinland

Transects in Nature

Source: http://www.iapad.org/transect_mapping.htm

1. Amend the 1998 Land Use and TransportationElement (LUTE) o the City o Oakland General Plan

Urban planning and land development are primarily guided by

theCityofOaklandGeneralPlan.TheGeneralPlanamendment,specicallytotheLandUseandTransportationElement(LUTE),

would contain overarching policies to bring the urban villageconcepttolifeforallofOakland.

Recognizingthatourdailymovementsareintricatelylinkedto

the urban form, we recommend that the LUTE be amended to

improve coordination between land uses and transportation.Whereas,inpreviousdecades,automobiledependencehas

been closely tied to sprawl, the Urban Villages concept shouldbe supported by a policy emphasis on alternatives to private

cars. LUTE policies should support a land use pattern thatbring together a wide range of distinct yet compatible uses, sothatdailylive,workandshoppingneedscanbemetwithina

small geographic area. The latter goal implies not only a highdensity but also a high diversity of uses that creates a sense of

community and place, to which we refer as Urban Villages.

After amendments are adopted, a more rigorous investigation of

eachcenteridentiedwouldbecompletedintheformofanAreaor Action Plan. The goal of the Area or Action Plan would be to

see how the new General Plan policies would manifest in sub-areasofthecity:Wherearetheconsistenciesandinconsistencies

withthenewgoalsandmandates?Thisresearchalsoidenties

whatstepsshouldbetakentoimplementtheGeneralPlanpolicies,whetherthoseberezoning,changingparking

requirements, or other on-the-ground changes. The Form-BasedCodes amendments of the Zoning Ordinance would provide the

implementing details.

usetypes.Thisisincontrasttoconventionalzoningsfocusonthe

micromanagement and segregation of land uses, and the controlof development intensity through abstract and uncoordinated

parameters(e.g.,FAR,dwellingsperacre,setbacks,parkingratios,

tracLOS)totheneglectofanintegratedbuiltform.Nottobeconfused with design guidelines or general statements of policy,

Form-based codes are regulatory, not advisory.

Ultimately, a Form-based code is a tool; the quality ofdevelopment outcomes is dependent on the quality and objectives

of the community plan that a code implements.

Ecocity Builders is suggesting that a form-based approach to

zoningforUrbanVillageswouldhelpdeneprescriptivelanduseand development guidelines to help achieve a timely transition

from the existing car-based built environment to the Urban

Villages model.


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21

Urban Village Zone 1 consists of the highest

density and height with the greatest variety of

uses and civic building of regional importance.Vitalitycentersaredowntowns,majordistrict

or neighborhood centers becoming increasinglycompanct, pedestrian oriented and functionally

diverse.Thiszoneencouragescreatingcar-freeareasandbikewaysthatprovideadiversityof

activity near transit nodes.

Massingandfacades(proposed)

Medium to high-density mixed-use buildingsincluding residential, business, entertainment,

civic and cultural uses. Attached buildings formingcontinuous street walls; trees within the public

right-of-way; highest pedestrian and transit

activity.Buildingheightsof4-plusstorieswith

morebusinessandcentralizedculturalfacilitiesthan residences.

Street elements

More compact development with greater mixed-

uses eliminates dependence on automobiles while

helping transit options such as light rail, bicyclesandpedestrianwalkways.Connectivitybetween

buildingstakestheformofbridgesbetweenbuildings allowing more pedestrian accessibility.

Plazas,openairmarketsandfountainsareprovided by public access to new open space.

Sustainability elements

Green roofs and ground level gardens, solar hot

water and solar electric hardware control reducestormwaterrun-oandgenerateon-sitelocal

energy.Acar-freezonecontributestolowervehicle miles traveled, reduced accidents and

local pollution and reduced contribution to globalheating.

Urban Village

Zone 1

Proposed Transect-Based Zoning

Overlay or the City o Oakland

The bands of color in indicate distances andgeneral densities from vitality centers or urban

villages. Higher densities are toward the center

(pinksandreds)zones,whileopenspaceareprioritizedfartherfromcenters.Thezones

correspond to those in our recommendation forForm-Based Codes. This is an one iteration of

our ecocity mapping approach; we have further

renedthisanalysisusingGISraster-basedanalysisas described in Section II.

City o Oakland General Plan and

Zoning Map

TheGeneralPlanreectsthelong-rangevisionandpolicyframeworktoguidedevelopmentfor

thenexttwentyyearsintheCityofOakland.

TheOaklandGeneralPlanconsistsofaseriesofElements. Completed and updated elements incude

the Land Use and Transportation Element, theOpen Spce, Conservation and Recreation Element

(OSCAR),HistoricPreservationElement,andthe

Estuary Policy Pan.

Low architectural complexityLow diverisity o uses

Car-oriented urban core

High architectual complexityKeyholepublic plaza

Pedestrian bridgesMixed uses

Higher Architectural + Biological Complexity

Rootop gardensExisting

Proposed


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22 23

Urban Village Zone 2 represents medium density

and height variation from 3-7 stories with

occasionaltallertowersencouragingretail,ocesand multi-family uses.

Massingandfacades(existing)

The massing in the drawing represents the randompattern in an area adjacent to a downtown in

a city or town. Houses tend to be two or threestories. Land uses of multi-family housing and light

commercial spaces are present.

Build out

Thenextillustration,Proposed,showsremovalof a few small buildings and most of a street with

several new larger buildings and considerable newopen space with gardens and small gathering areas.

Street elements

Thecentralstreetbecomespartiallyaparking

areaandtherestisavailableforwalking,biking

andsocializing,forurbanorchardandgardensand occasional small events. Streets that are not

removedexperiencelessautomobiletracand,given the higher density and diversity of activity in

theinnerzones,moreecienttransit.


Green roofs, ground level gardens and rooftop

solar provide energy and views of the bioregion

and city. Removing paving helps with groundwaterrechargeandpreventsooding.Asinallzones,

there are reductions in car-related accidents, localpollution and contribution to global heating.

Existing Proposed

Urban Village

Zone 2

Urban Village

Zone 3

Urban Village Zone 3 represents the second ring

outside a vitality center. The center street shows

the approximate mid-point beyond which, movingoutward, density decreases. The illustration labeled

Existingisaresidentialareamainlyutilizedbycars.ThedrawinglabeledProposedfeaturesmore

open space devoted to native plants and birds, foodgrowing, recreation, recycling, sports activities and

foot and bicycle paths.

MassingandFacades(proposed)

Zone 3 shows little change in overall density, butgenerally higher toward the center and lower

toward the outer edge. Zone 3 will be residential,

shifting toward slightly more mixed-use withoccasional corner stores and home businesses.

Existing Proposed

Medium density residential ormVery small private lots

Higher density housingIncreased open space

Pedestrian bridgesHigh architectual complexity

Low density residential ormSmall private lots

Moderate density at edgesIncreased public space in center

Street elements

Smallparkingareasontheclosedstreetsallow

autoandbikeparking.Neighborhoodgardens,

smallgatheringareasandmini-parksappearwhereafewhouseshavebeenremovedinwillingseller

deals.


Green roofs and solar hardware provide energy.

Increased open space and ground level gardensreducestormwaterrun-oandhelprecharge

groundwater.Withhigherdensitycenters

relatively nearby and with more variety of uses,Zone 3 residents are less dependent on and

generate fewer vehicle miles traveled than in thecity represented in this area in the drawing labeled

Existing.


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24 25

Urban Village Zone 4 represents the last ring

outside a vitality center. In the drawing labeled

Existingthiszoneconsistsalmostexclusivelyoflow-density residential development.

Build out

IntheProposeddrawing,aconsiderablenumberof structures are removed and their materials

recycled. This leaves room for agricultural andnaturallandtoreturn.Setbackscanberelatively

deep.Inthisexpandingopenacreagezone,sports

and recreation would be closer to the inner threezones,bringthecountrysideclosertowhere

people live.

Urban Village

Zone 4

Existing

Proposed

Existing

Proposed

Urban Village

Zone 5

Urban Village Zone 5 represents everything outside

Zones1through4.Itisrestrictedtorecreation,

agriculturalandopenspaceuses.Woodlandsandgrasslands are encouraged to return. Agricultural,

forestryandshingusesareallowed.

Build out

Single family homes are acceptable whileagriculture, telecommuting and small ecovillages

are encouraged, with buildings of typical heightssimilar to European compact villages at 1 to 5

stories, or taller as appropriate. Large areas offorest and agriculture return, along with native

plants and wildlife.

Low density residential ormLarge private lots

Clustering o housesIncreased open space or parks and agriculture

Very low density suburban/exurbanormVery large private lots

Clustering o housesRegional parks

Agricultural parks


Farms provide locally grown produce, as shown

intheProposeddrawing,whilesolarandwind

installations provide on-site energy. Bioswales andretentionpondsslowdownandlterstormwater

run-o.Creeks,ridgelinesandothernaturalfeaturescannowberestored.Withfewerpeople

living in this area and thus less driving, a majorcontribution to ecological health is achieved.


Farms provide locally grown produce, while solar

and wind farms can provide energy. Minimal

paving and rooftop areas allow maximumgroundwater recharge and radically reduce

run-orelativetotodayslow-densitysuburbs.Biodiversity returns to a city with a much smaller

footprint. Reforestation will be crucial to sequestercarbon from the atmosphere and slow down global

warming.


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26 27

3. Create a nancial mechanism or inrastructureand public improvements to support the

Transportation Hierarchy and the Urban Village

AnancialstrategyisakeycomponentofUrbanVillagedevelopment. The City should create clear plans, based on

public input, that identify the infrastructure and other essential

improvements to the Urban Villages concept and how the fundswill be acquired.

Most infrastructure improvements should be considered on a

city-wide basis and could include standards for street furnitureforpedestrianfriendlystreets,bikeracks,electriccarcharging

stations, and innovations such as street lights that dim at

dawnanddusk,inadditiontostandardfunctions.Bicycleand

Pedestrian Master Plans provide a source for infrastructureimprovements that must be reviewed during strategydevelopment.

Since public funds are limited, a strategy that combines publicand private investment should be part of the plan. City funding

shouldbeincludedintheve-yearCitysCapitalImprovementPlan(CIP)budgetsothatasfundingbecomesavailable,urban

village projects can be implemented.

Abasicpremiseofprivateinvestmentistotakeadvantageof

land value premiums - the fact that the value of l and may beincreased by certain public projects or investment, and so it may

makesensethatthosewhobenetalsoshareinthecost.Atthesame time public projects can attract private investment. Possible

funding mechanisms include: Transit and Density Premiums;

DevelopmentDispositionAgreements(DDAs)andDevelopmentImprovement Agreements; Redevelopment Agencies and Tax

Increment Financing; and Infrastructure Impact Fees.

4. Revise the Transer o Development Rights (TDR)Ordinance to establish additional Conservation and

Open Space

Transferofdevelopmentrights(TDR)isamarket-basedtechnique that encourages the voluntary transfer of growth from

placeswhereacommunitywouldliketoseelessdevelopment,

orsendingareas,toplaceswhereacommunitywouldliketoseemore development, or receiving areas. The sending areas can be

environmentally-sensitive properties, open space, agriculturalland,wildlifehabitat,historiclandmarksoranyotherplacesthat

are important to a community. The receiving areas should beplaces that the general public has agreed are appropriate for extra

development because they are close to jobs, shopping, schools,

transportation and other urban services.

TDRisdrivenbytheprotmotive.Sendingsiteownerspermanently deed-restrict their properties because the TDR

programmakesitmoreprotableforthemtoselltheirunused

development rights than develop their land. Developers buythe development rights and use them to increase the density of

receiving site projects; they do that because these larger projectsaremoreprotablethanthesmallerprojectsallowedwhen

developmentrightsarenottransferred.Inadditiontomakingproperty owners and developers happy, TDR solves a seemingly

intractable dilemma for communities: it gives them a way to

achieve critical land use goals using little or no public funding.

Werecommendthat:

-ThePlanningDepartmentlookcomprehensivelyatareasthat

canberevertedbacktoopenspace,greenbelt,creeksandothernaturalamenities,aspartofGeneralPlanand/orAreaPlan

updates, and Redevelopment Plan.

-UrbanVillageZones1and2aredesignatedreceivingsitesandUrbanVillageZones3,4and5aredesignatedsendingsites,with

additionalsendingsitesthroughoutallZonesthatarepartof

contiguousurbancreekcorridorsorotherspecialnaturalfeaturesand open space opportunity sites.

-CityCouncilmodifytheexistingOaklandTDRordinanceto

makethetoolmoreeectiveandsupportiveoftheUrbanVillage

concept.

- Use TDR in conjunction with or in place of eminent domain inRedevelopment areas.

Ecocity Builders crafted a preliminary draft TDR ordinance,

enclosed in the Appendix. It is important to note that our

recommendation is not simply to create high density throughoutOakland,butratherhighdensitycenterscontrastingwith

surrounding areas that have open space. It is also important thathigh-densityareasalsoincorporatenaturalfeatureslikecreeks,

greenbelts, or shorelines, as public amenities so that high density

urban areas may be enriched by natural features. This is animportant quality of life issue.


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28 29

Community Outreach & Site Selection

SECTION IV

The Urban Villages model is based on the premise that in order to achieve

long-term sustainability, a c omprehensive and integrated approach is needed.

Ifsuccessful,themodelwillguideatransitionofOaklandsbuiltenvironment

into a new regional vision of economically, environmentally and sociallyhealthyurbanvillagesofvarioussizesandcharacters,poweredlargelyby

clean,renewableenergyandlinkedprimarilythroughwalking,publictransit,greenways,trailsandnaturalcorridors.Wearehopingthatthemodelwillbeadapted to other Bay Area cities to meet goals of greenhouse gas emissions

and carbon footprint reduction, climate protection, sustainable development,

environmental quality, and increased economic stability.

Workingwithourprojectpartner,WesternInstituteofSocialResearch

(WISR)andtheCityofOaklandNeighborhoodCrimePreventionCouncil

(NCPC),weinitiallyselectedWestOaklandtoserveastheprojectPilotArea.CriteriaforselectionincludedthestressorsindicesdevelopedbyOaklands

HumanServicesDepartmentandusedbytheOaklandPoliceDepartmentand

otherstoidentifyat-riskneighborhoods.EarlyoutreachfocusedongettingtoknowWestOakland,thenreningthepilotprojectselectionandlearning

about the pilot community we eventually connected with. Our selection

process involved introducing ourselves and the projects scope, mission

andgoals,conducinginterviews,smallmeetingsandworkshops,gatheringinformation, listening to residents and community representatives and trying

tobetterunderstandthecomplexsocialandpoliticalrealitythatisWest

Oakland.

WesurveyedWestOaklandusingourOaklandGIS-basedmappingsystem and on-the-ground observations of neighborhood assets

(e.g.presenceofparksandpublictransportation)andchallenges

(e.g.lackofparksandpublictransportation)inconsultationwithlocalleadersidentiedbycommunityorganizationsserving

asprojectpartners.Duringthisperiodwefurtherrenedthefocus of our Pilot Area to concentrate on the Lower Bottoms of

WestOakland,shiftingawayfromtheHover/Fosterareathat

wed initially thought would emerge as the neighborhood focusarea. This shift occurred as a natural unfolding of the project

based on our outreach and expressions of interest and positiveengagement.

WeintroducedtheUrbanVillageapproachandsolicitedfeedback

at a series of meetings with community residents and leaders and

workedwithourprojectpartnerWISRtododirectedoutreachtothecommunityinthetargetedPilotArea.AlongwithWISR,we

conducted interviews with a varied cross-section of neighborhoodleaders and other well-informed residents. These interviews

provided initial information about community needs and

strengths,andinformedtheplanningofneighborhoodworkshopsbyidentifyinglikelyparticipantsandpossiblesitesforholdingthe

events. These meetings were used as a basis for conducting anassessment of community needs and strengths, and as a vehicle

forassessingandmobilizingcitizeninterestinparticipatingintheeventual action plan.

The outcome of our initial interviews and survey exercises was asummary Vitality and Needs Assessment Inventory, including an

assessment of natural resources, transportation infrastructureand land uses, and concentrated social, cultural, and economic

activity.

In September 2008, we got a fortuitous boost at the greenbuildingtradeshowandconference,WestCoastGreen2008,

where the Urban Villages project was showcased in a sustainable

design charrette with several hundred in attendance, includingsomeWestOaklandcommunityleadersandresidents.Ecocity

Buildersco-organizedandledthecharrette,whichgenerateda number of useful design ideas and recommendations and

identiednewprojectsupportersandcollaborators.Thecharrette

also enjoyed a positive review in the San Francisco Chronicle,WestCoastGreentacklesasustainablefutureforWestOakland,

SF Chronicle, Oct. 7, 2008.

A project milestone was the establishment of a synergisticrelationshipwithaneighborhoodorganizationlocatedinthe

LowerBottoms(akathePrescottneighborhood)theVillage

BottomsCommunityDevelopmentCorporationwhodenetheirscopeofoutreachasroughly7thStreetto24thStreetand

PeraltatoPineStreet.Weformedapositiveandproductiveand strategic anchor partnership with the neighborhood, with

additionalsupportingpartnershipsemergingwiththeWest

OaklandEnvironmentalIndicatorsProject,OaklandTechnologyExchangeWest,UrbanReleaf,andothers.Webelievethatthe

Lower Bottoms neighborhood constitutes a promising focus areain existing community leadership, vision, and in land use existing

conditions and potential.

Community leaders in the Village Bottoms, we found, are

alreadywell-educatedinissuesregardingland-use,zoning,andsustainability. A primary need, however, is support for their

comprehensive vision for the future and a roadmap and strategythat supports their sustainable economic, environmental and

social development goals. Hence the Urban Villages Project,

we found, is timely and relevant to this community who islookingforawaytodene,organizeandadvancetheirvision

of sustainable community, local job creation and greater socialsecurity and cultural identity.


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30 31

Public Services G oo d F ai r P oo r N on e

1 Courts/Police/Halls x

2 Libraries x

Doctors x

Community Health Facilities x

Rec Centers x

Educational Institutions x

Senior Centers x

Child Care x

Hospitals x

Shelters x

Fire Station x

Retail Services

Entertainment x

3 Shopping x

4 Grocery x

Banking x

Food x

Tourist Locations x

Farmer's Markets x

Employment

Hospitals x

Industry x

Gov Buildings x

5 Other x

Transportation

Bike Routes x

Bus Route x

Pedestrian Routes x

BART Station x

Housing

Public Housing x

Single Family Housing x

Multi-Family Housing x

Assisted Housing x

Natural Amenities

Streams/ Creeks x

6 City Parks x

Community Gardens x

7 Historic Sites x

8 Clean air x

9 Soil x

Water x

10 Sun x

11 Wind x

12 Trees and greenery/views to nature x

Inventory o Vitality Attributes or West Oakland Pilot Area

1. PoliceResidents generally said that policing techniquesin their community were often aggressive and

adversarial. Many said that police only typically

enter the neighborhoods with guns drawn to arrestsuspects or question people in a confrontational

tone. So, although there is policing happening, theapproach used by police, they feel,

doesnotmakethemfeelsafer.

2. LibraryResidents said that library services could beimproved. A common observation was that

libraries were the only place where most residents

can access the Internet, but that the short amountoftimeallowedonlinewasinsucienttocomplete

importanttaskslikejobsearchesandonlineapplications.

3. ShoppingAlmostallresidentsindicatedaseverelackofbasic

shopping opportunities in the community.

4.GroceryMapping and interviews show clearly that residents

ofWestOaklandlackaccesstogrocerystoresandhealthy food choices, although an abundance of

fastfood/convenience/liquorstoresabound.

5. EmploymentMappingandinterviewsshowthatWestOaklandlacksbasicemploymentopportunities.

Unemployment is high. Those with jobs, often

Notes rom Analysis and Interviews with

Community Leaders in West Oakland

women with families, typically have to travel long distances toand from low wage service jobs. The long commutes put extra

burdenonfamiliesalreadyatriskduetopovertyandproximityto

crime and drugs.

6.ParksResidentsreportedthatcompetitionforuseofparksandrecreationaleldsbyorganizedsportsteamsisexcludingthose

whowanttoplayinformally.Childrenoffamilieswhocantaordtopayfororganizedsportsprogramsareoftenshutoutoftheir

neighborhoodparkbyteamsfromotherareasinOaklandwho

havemadeadvancedreservationsforelduse.

7. Historic SitesWestOaklandresidentssaidthatthereisnolackofhistoryand

of historic sites in the neighborhood. The problem is that thebuildingsarebecomingdilapidatedandthereareinsucientcommunity resources to repair and maintain the

historic homes.

8. Clean airItisnosecretthatWestOaklandhaspoorairquality.Theresidentsandcommunityleaderswetalkedtoareupsetand

frustrated. They believe that the discussion about l and uses

can help sort out potential solutions and help the communityprioritizefortakingactionstoimprovetheairqualityintheir

community.

9. SoilAlmostallthelandintheWestOaklandPilotAreaiscontaminated due to current or prior industrial use. Some areas

aretoxichotspotsandwillrequireexpensiveenvironmental

remediation if the soil is to be restored to safe levels. Howeverthere still remains a high potential for innovative community

land use strategies such as greenhouse-based urban farmingoperations, and we are currently actively pursing this option with

the Lower Bottoms neighbors.

10. SunTheWestOaklandPilotAreaenjoysmildweather,oftenwithsun,

and the potential for solar thermal, solar el ectric and passive solarheating through building orientation and other green building

methods is generally good.

11.WindAn initial wind analysis shows that although there is a fairly

consistentbreeze,thewindcurrentsarenotquitestrongenoughto support wind energy generation economically. Also worth

notingisthatthebreezesalsotendtoblowdirtyairfromthe

freewaysandPortofOaklandintothepilotneighborhood.Aprogram of tree or bamboo planting could be one way to help

ltertheairandourprojectislookingintotothepossibilities.

12.Trees/Greenery/ViewstoNatureMappingandon-the-groundobservationshowsthattheWestOaklandPilotAreahascomparativelypoortreecovering,less

greenery and fewer celebrated views to nature than other areasofOakland.


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Community Outreach

Urban Relea

In the summer of 2008, Ecocity Builders as part of the projects

outreach process approached Urban Releaf, an urban forestry

nonprotestablishedtoaddressthedisproportionateabsenceofgreeneryinWestOakland.InpartnershipwithUrbanReleaf

sta,EcocityBuildersimplementedaneighborhoodphotographyprojecttoinventoryon-the-groundconditionsinWestOakland.

UrbanReleafstaandvolunteerscapturedexistingneedsand

assets in the community.

TheneighborhoodphotographersidentiedsomeofthegreatestneedsandconcernsinWestOakland,including:

-Agrocerystorethatisntacorner/liquorstore

-Abank-Lackoftrees,parks,andothergreenery

- Access to jobs and job training- Antagonistic police presence and youth crime

-Threatofdisplacementandgentrication

Thephotosonthispagereecttheiron-the-groundinventory,

which the Urban Releaf team presented at a charrette convenedbyEcocityBuildersatWestCoastGreen2008inSanJose,CA.

Community Outreach

Village Bottoms Community

Development Corporation

Our outreach engagement with the Village

Bottoms Community Development Corporationproved to be fruitful. Community leaders

comprised of artists, philosophers, and activists

provide services to the community at-large intheformofaordablehousingandrst-time

homebuyers assistance, business incubation, andcultural preservation in this historic neighborhood.

WeselectedthiscommunityasaUrbanVillage

pilot site because a strong community visionalreadyexistsfortheholisticrevitalizationofthe

Village Bottoms Cultural District.

One of the core projects in the Village BottomsCulturalDistricteortistheurbanfarm.Locally

supportive agriculture, access to food by proximity,

and reducing waste through composting andmaterial reuse are all values and activities

compatible with the Urban Villages idea and canpotentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The

communitys vision is to build an aquaponics farm

growingshandthenreusingwaterforirrigationof microgreens. Ecocity Builders and Village

Bottoms leaders attended a training on aquaponicsfarmingwithGrowingPowerinMilwaukee,WI.


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34 35

Cultural100BlackMen(BayArea)BayAreaBlackUnitedFundBlackDotArtists,Inc.Gregory Chisholm, SJ,

Jesuit School of TheologyPrescott Joseph CenterThe Crucible

Community & EconomicDevelopmentB. O. S. S.BayLocalizeBruce BeasleyCypress Mandela Training CenterDavillier-Sloan

East Bay Depot for Creative ReuseEllaBakerCenterforHumanRightsHolliday DevelopmentOaklandTechnologyExchangeUrban HabitatUrban StrategiesVillage Bottoms Neighborhood Assoc.WesternInstituteforSocialResearchYMCA of the East Bay

Food Systems and SecurityCenter Street FarmCitySlickerFarmMo Betta FoodsOBUGSPeoples GroceryRalph Bunche School NurseryThe Herb FarmWestOaklandWoodsFarm

Zoom in o Community Assets, Downtown

Zoom in o Community Assets, West Oakland

Environment/Energy/

Planning & DesignCommunity Energy ServicesEcocity BuildersEcology CenterLocal Clean Energy CampaignHood DesignMichaelWillisArchitectsRising Sun Energy CenterStopWaste.orgTransFormUrban ReleafWestOaklandEnvironmental

Indicators Project

Government

Nancy Nadel, CouncilwomanCarlettaL.Starks,Oceof

Councilwoman Nancy NadelCityofOaklandPublicWorksCityofOaklandCommunityand

Economic Development

Community Resources or West Oakland

Mapping Community ResourcesAs part of the community outreach process,

EcocityBuildersandWISRengagedinone-on-one conversations with community-based,

nonprot,andgovernmentorganizationsthatwereknowledgeableabouttheconditionsinWest

Oakland.Wecontactedandbuiltrelationships

with43organizationsinBerkeleyandOaklandworkingtoaddresscommunityandeconomic

development, cultural, food security, andenvironmentalissuesinWestOakland.

Welearnedthroughourconversationsthatsome

oftheseorganizationsmaybeworkingonsimilar

issuesandtheirworkcouldbestrengthenedthroughanetworkforresourcesharingand

collaboration. To highlight the wealth of

communityresources,andtovisualizetheextentof of our outreach, Ecocity Builders mapped the

organizationsandcommunityleadersthatwe,alongwithouroutreachpartner,WesternInstitute

for Social Research, engaged with.

The Community Asset Map is intended to beecientlyusedandmodiedinGoogleEarth,but

is also available to the community in paper form.

Community Asset Map


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36

Ournexttaskwastohelptheneighborhoodreneitsvision

for its short and long term sustainable development and start

crafting the Village Bottoms Action Plan. Our overall strategywastodivideandthinkaboutthelargerareaasthreemain

zones:theWestOaklandBARTstationareaandimmediateneighborhoods; Pine Street and the Village Bottoms

neighborhood; and the area around Central Station (16th andWoodStreet).

WithinthelargerPilotAreaandinaccordancewiththebroadervisionofOaklandsemergingUrbanVillagesas

prescribedbythepreviousmappingexercises,theWestOaklandBARTareaemergesasthehigherdensitycenter.

Pine Street and the Village Bottoms neighborhood is

strengthened and restored as a l ower density mid-sectionand connector, with increased areas opening up for urban

agriculture and local job incubation envisioned as part ofanewBlackCulturalDistrict,asadvocatedbytheVillage

Bottoms Neighborhood Association. The Central Stationareastartstobedenedasamediumdensityneighborhood

center.

Thenextstepforthisproject,workinginpartnershipwith

the neighborhood, is to try and activate the Action Plan asquicklyaspossiblebyattractingresourcesandappropriate

partners in its development. One of the residents stated

reasons for a fast pace in the pilot neighborhood is that theysee a short window of time to propose their community

vision for sustainable development against what they seeasthetideofgentricationlikelycomingtheirway.They

feel that the sooner they develop and propose a communityinitiated long-range land-use plan and plan for economic and

culturalrevival,themorelikelytheyaretoremainaviable

and growing partner in the community.

Section IVVillage Bottoms Action Plan

While the ecocity vision inspires us to see the city o t he uture re-made wholecloth, West Oakland presents itsel today as a ragged and torn quilt; missing pieces,

that dont t, torn and worn by economic and social orces. The threads, however

worn, are holding thousands o lives and stories together, woven through the abric

o the built environment down to the industrial parcels and the soil itsel where new

roots have been established by descendants o the Arican Diaspora.

As a local but clearly outsidernonprot engaging with an established Black

community in an historic Black neighborhood, our role was to listen, learn and

support; to determine whether our services could be o use, or i indeed we even

needed to be there at all. As we engaged with neighborhood leaders, we quickly

saw that the people who live t here are actively involved in what can be see n as an

exercise in community quilting; repairing pieces, replacing some, and using whats

on hand to re-make the abric o West Oak land, specically the Lower Bottoms, into

something beautiul and sust ainable (culturally, economically and ecologically).

Vision- Activate Pine Street as a retail and cultural destination serving West Oakland

- Increase self-determination, self-reliance, and ecological resiliency within the community

- Prevent displacement through equitable partnerships, land ownership, and

bottom-up planning.


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38

At Ecocity Builders, this analogy to Arican-American quilting was instructive

and inspiring. Using whats nearby, working within or modiying traditions

and patterns, building a social network through shared labors (the quilting

bee), and working urgently but with an intuitive eye or beauty and or the big

picture.

The plan outlined in these pages attempts to show a communitys emergingplan or a new urban abric t hat includes a vibrant neighborhood and cultural

district. The primary architect is undoubtably Marcel Diallo, a Pine Street

resident, artist and community builder,

who works alongside members o several

engaged neighborhood organizations,

namely the Village Bottoms Community

Development Corporation and nonprot

Black Dot Artists, Inc.

All things reused, recycled and reclaimed

are put into play in this concept o

community building. Truly, the Village

Bottoms neighborhood is engaged in

perhaps the greenesturban experiment

in the Bay Area today. The lot at 10th

and Pine is the kicko or the most recent

phase o the emerging Village Bottoms

plan, where the community has already

built the rst o a series o aquaponic (sh

and greens) closed-system urban arms.

Planter boxes, worm bins and compost

bins are ed by the organic wastes rom

local caes, coee shops and breweries

orming the building blocks o a new

local enterprise. Wood or the aquaponics

systems was milled in the neighborhood

using trees harvested rom Oaklands urban orest. The entire operation is

modeled on a low cost, high yield method pioneered by MacArthur Genius

Awardee Will Allen, operating out o Milwaukee Wisconsin. Allen, the son o a

sharecropper, was a proessional player in the NBA and spent several decades

working in corporate America beore returning to his roots and launching a

Neighborhood history

revolution in urban arming. The Village Bottoms Farm is adapting some o

Allens concepts o intense vertical growing to their operation.

According to Diallo and associates, the goal is to not only grow and distributeaordable, healthy ood, but to also grow sel-determined, sel-reliant people

in the historic Village Bottoms Cultural District. They are already inspiring

Arican-Americans to reengage with the land through urban gardening

education, internships, jobs, compost service, and distribution o aordable

ood through a retail store and armers market on Pine Street.

Diallo sees the arm as part o a larger vision or the Village Bottoms Cultural

District, an eort to maintain a

serious Black cultural presence

in West Oakland in the ace o

rapid gentrication. To date,

the Village Bottoms has seen

the establishment o The Black

New World Social Aid & Pleasure

Club, The Black Dot Cae, Nganga

Diallos House o Common Senseaka The Juju Shop, Cornelia Bells

Black Bottoms Gallery and OT

Jacksons Flophouse.

The Action Plan or uturedevelopment eatures shipping

container artist studios and

retail opportunities along with

elements drawing rom the

cultural mecca o New Orleans

plaza, parade route, museum,

caes and architectural eatures

like street ront balconies and

porches. New Orleans was the

point o entry into America or

many enslaved Arican peoples whose descendants are now residents o the

Lower Bottoms. During World War II, they came to Oakland and the East Bay

to work in the ship yards and steel actories. Their stories are proound and

poignant. Their lie journeys will be celebrated through the oerings o this

emerging cultural district, where the voices and struggles o the past will be

preserved and woven into the present with an eye to a more equitable and

sustainable uture.


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40 41

2006 2007 2008

10'-0"

10'-0"

10'-0"

65'-0"

95'-0"

60'-0"

15'-0"40'-0"

35'-0"

25'-0"

22'-0"

6'-0"

27'-0"

5'-0"

3'

3'

3'-0"

19'-0"

30'-0"

3 ' 2 4' -0 " 3'

35'-0"

15'-0"

13'-6"

13'-6"

Shop#1

Bookstore

Black Dot

Cafe

Mech

M.

B.

B.

cl.

E.

UP

UP

UP

UP Mech

Garage

Artist

GroundFloor Plan

north elevation weste le va ti on s ou th e le va ti on

CommercialSpace#2

E.

B.B.

Balcony

SecondFloor Plan

Commercia l

Space #3

E.

B.

Third Floor Plan

Balcony

RoofDeck

Roof Deck

Pine Street @ 10th[Mixed use development scheme]

Black Dot Cae Opens[ w/ Pacic Cannery Lots]

Pine Street Timeline[design + planning + action]

Black New WorldPerormance Venue

Grand Opening

Village Bottoms Farm[ Aquaponics = Tilapia Fish + Baby Greens]

2009

Village Bottoms Action Plan[Cultural District Armature]


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43Neighborhood opportunities

Vitality Clusters

Extensive GIS analysis and mapping based

on current zoning and land use determined

that the West Oakland BART and TOD was

the most suitable site or Urban Village De-

velopment. However, the emerging large

scale development at Central Station, and

the civic activities o the Village Bottoms

Neighborhood Association revealed a more

complex village structure.

Additional community outreach and

qualitative analysis by Ecocity Builders also

lent urther weight to the idea o a multi-

modal urban village with two dense transit

centers connected by an axis o economic

and cultural activity.

The map at right highlights these two tran-

sit hubs, as well as the e merging economic

activity along the Pine Street corridor.

[Analysis + Adaptation o the West Oakland Urban Village]

The Village Bottoms District

ts within a well established

pattern o economic/retail

development along the west-

ern edge o the East Bay.

However, while the Bay Street

and Fourth Street districts are

typically visited by car, the

Village Bottoms District will

be also be easily accessible

by train, oot, and bike. In

addition, the district will also

be woven into an existing

and emerging neighborhood

that desperately needs retail

access.

Ecocity Mapping provided

the quantitative city-scale

approach to locatingurban villages.

Bay Street,Emeryville

Fourth Street,Berkeley

Pine Street,Oakland

West Oakland BART + TOD

Central Station Development

Black DotCae

Village BottomsFarm

Black NewWorld

Perormance Space

PrescottCenter

Village Bottoms Cultural District


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44 45

A great deal o grassroots neighborhood planning had already taken place at Village Bottoms prior to it being

identied as a urban village site with high potential. Thereore, it was necessary or Ecocity builders to compile

this existing site inormation, while also completing additional community outreach and physical inventories.

These maps are intended to consolidate much o the planning work that has taken place in the neighborhood

since 2006, while also providing a spatial and ormal oundation or the Village Bottoms Conceptual Plan.

Much o the site inormation was obtained rom the Village Bottoms Neighborhood Association. Site invento-

ries, design charrettes, and planning research were also conducted by Ecocity Builders.

Village Bottoms Cultural District at Pine Street

[Site Constraints + Potential]

Viewshed

Land Use Designations

Villages Bottoms Cultural District Vacant Lots

Circulation Networks

Air Pollution

1 ring = 1/4 mile = 5-minute walk

West Oakland BART West Oakland BART

CentralStation

1/4 mi

1/2 mi

3/4 mi

Bike Path

Pedestrian

Auto

Bus

1/4 mi

1/2 mi

3/4 mi

BusinessMix

Community Commercial

Housing &Business Mix

Institutional

MixedHousing Type

NeighborhoodCenter

Urban Open Space

Urban Residential


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47

i. General conceptual Plan

showing Bart, Village Bottomsplan, and Wood street


Central Station Development

7th Street Corridor

Village Bottoms Cultural District [in context]

Ater several years o analysis, planning, and small-

scale development projects, Black Dot Artists, Inc.

and Ecocity Builders have woven together a design

ramework or the Village Bottoms Cultural District

plan. The purpose o the ollowing plan is to highlight

the balance between grassroots improvisational

development, large scale building projects and the

myriad o interests involved in the neighborhood. The

resulting armature is intended to reveal the overall

neighborhood structure, character and aesthetic,

while maintaining exibility.

The emphasis is on activating Pine Street as a

destination or retail and cultural oerings and as a

connector between West Oaklands traditional center

near the BART station to the east and the nearby

Central Station housing explosion now underway

directly to the north.


[Conceptual Plan]

Urban DesignParis meets Arica at the Ironworks site where the

browneld is transormed into a dynamic public

space anchored by an Arican American Heritage

Museum, eaturing hundreds o quilts and cultural

artiacts, as well as a tropical plant conservatory.

The plaza and green terraces house a sculpture

garden eaturing tributes to local black heroes,

as well as local artwork. Towers made o shipping

containers mark gateways to the neighborhood.

Brick street pavers mimic New Orleans, sidewalks

are enlarged or cae seating, and rainwater is

brought to the surace.

LandscapeUrban agriculture produces ood and reduces the

neighborhood carbon ootprint.

Rainwater rom the plaza and the museum is

channeled to a dynamic and artul water eature.

A vegetated buer strip is used to lter pollution

rom the nearby reeway and port, while also

unctioning as a productive urban orest.

The Greenway park provides a more direct

pedestrian route to BART, as well as space or an

ecological and agricultural park.

A bike path connects the ormer Ironworks to 7th

street which in turn connects the waterront to

BART and downtown Oakland.

Village Bottoms

Gateway + Farm

Container Housing Inll

Greenway Park

Urban Farm and MIxed Use

Green Building

Vegetated Buer-bamboo-native trees-orchard

Arican American QuiltMuseum-rootop vistas-grassy terraces

Plaza-sculpture garden eat. local

arican american heros-green rainwater eatures

-public space or gatherings

-views o San Francisco pre-

served across siteLandmark Tower

Conservatory-aquaculture

-tropical plants

Bike Path

-connectingIronworks to

7th street

West Oakland

Bay Area


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48 49

Pine Street @ Village Bottoms [activated]

This conceptual illustration highlights many o the key eatures o

the Village Bottoms Action Plan. Higher density buildings with rst

oor retail that use local and inexpensive materials such as shipping

containers. Street lie that celebrates local residents historical

relationship to industry and to New Orleans.


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50 51

Village Bottoms District Gateway [pine st. @ tenth]

The intersection o Pine street and 10th serves as a key gateway to the Village Bottoms

Cultural District. This conceptual drawing emphasizes the importance o higher

density along this street, rst oor retail and produce market, exible artisan/agricultural

space, and enhanced pedestrian corridors. The building architecture combines the

local aesthetic o shipping containers with second and third story streetront porches

indigenous to New Orleans.

Greenway Park[chase st. @ pine st.]

This conceptual image eatures a crucial component o urban village mapping: shiting densities.

Vital areas are urther densied while open space is consolidated or sustainable/ agricultural parks

and greenways. In the Lower Bottoms, much o the open space takes the orm o vacant lots. This

particular cluster o undermaintained lots was identied as having the potential to hasten the walk to

and rom the West Oakland BART station.


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52 53

LookingaheadtoimplementationstrategiesforAB32andSB375,theanalysis

inthissectionprojectsreasonableestimatesofgreenhousegas(GHG)emissions from vehicle miles traveled by personal car and home energy

consumptioninOaklandsUrbanVillagesto2020under:

1)Abusiness-as-usualscenario;

2)AnUrbanVillagescenariowitha20%increaseindensity;or 3)Asolarenergyonrooftopsscenario.

OaklandsUrbanVillagesneighborhoodshavetheirorigininthehistorictrolleylines(LabeledAH,Figure1)andhavebeeninstitutionalizedinthe

zoningpatternsascommercialandretaildistricts.Eachvillagecenteralready

hasamixofusestobuildupon(Miller2005;OIO2007;Schecteretal.2006).Currently,theyarehometoabout117,000ofOaklands415,000people

(WikipediaContributors2007).Accordingtothe2000Census,about70%of

the52,000householdsintheseurbanvillagesaremultifamilyunitsand30%

are single family units.

OaklandsUrbanVillagescansaveOakland160,000barrelsofoilperyear,

oranequivalentto67,200tonsCO2,by2020.Acombinedapproachof20%densicationandsolarrooftopsinstallationwouldyieldtheabovereductions

inGHGemissions,whilea20%densicationinOaklandsUrbanVillagesonly

will yield greater emission reductions than the solar rooftop approach alone.

Greenhouse Gas Benets

SECTION VI


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54 55

Baseline Consumption/Business-As-Usual Scenario

Inthecurrentbusiness-as-usualscenario,OaklandsUrban

Villagesconsumeatotalof1,159,600bbl,or487,032tonsofCO2,peryear.TakingtheaverageareasofactualhomeslistedonCity

ofOaklandpropertyrecords,wetooktheaveragesingle-familyhome to be 1,600 square feet and the average multi-family unit

tobe1,000squarefeet(GISC2007).Weusedtheseaverage

guresintotheBerkeleyInstituteoftheEnvironmentsLifecycleCarbonFootprintCalculator(Jones2005;BerkeleyInstituteof

theEnvironment2007),whichconsidersoilconsumptionina household to include space heating, electric costs and other

energy costs, as well as costs for the construction, maintenance,

water and sewerage. Based on assumptions from the LifecycleCarbonFootprintCalculator,theaverageOaklandsingle-family

householdin2000consumed25barrelsofoilperyear(bbl/y),or

10.5tonsofCO2eperyear,comparedtoonly16bbl/y,or6.7CO2eperyearinatypicalmulti-familyunit(Table1).

Oaklands Urban Villages are shaped by historic trolley linesFigure 1

The conversion from CO2 emissions to presumed consumption of BBL equivalents couldvarydependingonassumptionsoftypeoffuel(naturalgas,gasoline,crudepetroleum)

because they all vary in amount of carbon and amount of useable energy. Farrell &Brandt(2006)estimatecrudetoemit25gcarbonpermegajoule.Thiswouldconvertto.56metrictonsCO2perbarrel.Breretal(2004)estimatesadierentratesavings

bbl to CO2 savings for each case study using regression ranging from .33 low to .52 high.Thedierencesarebasedondierencesinupstreamemissionsofassumed.Naturalgaswouldemit.30metrictonsC02perbarrelequivalent(Aube2001).SinceAlamedaCounty

usesrelativelycleanelectricityandnaturalgas(CARMA2007),thismemoassumesamiddlerangeof.42metrictonsCO2perbblforhousingunitconsumption.

Assumptions o Energy Uses o the Average Home in BBLTable 1

Source: BIE Liecycle Carbon Footprint Calculator

GHG Reductions rom Increasing DensitiesInthesehouseholds,accordingthe2000Census,66%driveto

workforanaverageof30minutesat20mpgeachway(Figures

2&3).Drivingtoworkconsumesalmost990,000bbl/yoremits415,800tonsofCO2annually.By2020,assumingthesamemix

ofhousing,populationtrendsarereectedinhousingstarts,andcareciencyimprovestoanaverageof35mpg,thisconsumption

willdecreaseto650,000bbl/y.Improvedfueleciencyalonewouldsave56,000bbl/yor23,520tonsCO2.

Proportion o Residents by Mode o Transit

Figure 2Source: Census 2000

GHG Reductions rom Installing Rootop Solar

Additionally,Oaklandcanpromotetheuseofsolarenergytosubstitute GHG-emitting sources as currently encouraged by

a combination of state and Federal tax credits and rebates.NeighboringBerkeleyhasgoneastepfurthertoallow

homeownerstoamortizethepurchaseofasolarunitontotheirproperty tax bill: The city pays for the installation and the owner

andsuccessorspayotheinstallationontheirpropertytaxbill.

Using energy saving assumptions from the BIE Lifecycle Carbon

FootprintCalculator,ifeachhomederived50%ofitsheatingneeds from solar thermal to substitute natural gas, this would

reducecitywideconsumptionto840,000bbl/y,ora27.6%or134,232tonsofCO2reductionoverabusiness-as-usualscenario.

Ifeveryhousingunitderived80%ofitselectricityfromsolarPV,citywideoilconsumptioncouldbereducedto740,000bbl/y,

representinga36%or176,232tonsofCO2inreductions.

# households Area (sq. ft.) Tons CO2/HH BBL

single-family home 36,400 1,600 10.5 25

multi-family unit 15,600 1,000 6.7 16

However, more can be done by increasing the proportion ofmultifamilyhousing.Bureretal(2004)studiedtheenergy

savingsofgreenelddevelopmentsincontrasttoinll

developments in the Bay Area and other metropolitan areas. Theyshowed that higher density neighborhoods reduced vehicle miles

traveled(VMT)peryearand,inturn,oilconsumption.

Using estimated reductions in VMT from Burer et al, we project

thatiftheCityofOaklandcanincreasetheproportionmulti-familyunitsby20%inurbanvillageswithlessthan90%multi-

familyunits(Figure4),itcanreduceconsumptionto594,777bbl/y,or249,806tonsofCO2peryear(Table2).Thisrepresents

areductionofabout40%fromthe2000baselinescenario,overandaboveGHGemissionreductionsfromfueleciency

improvements.

Distribution o Commuting Times in MinutesFigure 3

Source: Census 2000

Proportion o Single-Family vs. Multi-Family UnitsFigure 4

Source: Census 2000

Projected


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56 57

Thecostofpromotingdensityismorediculttoestimate,

dependingonthetypesofincentivesoered.Newconstructionisoftensubsidizedwithacombinationofgrants,taxincentives

and demand-side vouchers for low-income families. DensitybonusescouldbeoeredtodevelopersparticipatinginaTransfer

of Development Rights program as we proposed in Section III.

Care would have to be made that rising property values drivenby increased open space and attractive amenities would not drive

out low-income families, or displace the unique cultural heritageof each Urban Village.

Projected Change in Energy Use rom Increasing Multi-Family Units by 20%Table 2

Thisanalysisshowshowacombinedapproachofa20%

densicationandrooftopsolarinstallationwouldsave160,000bbl/y,or67,200tonsofCO2.Whilethisanalysisillustratesgreater

GHG emission reductions from densifying urban villages thanfromrooftopsolarinstallation,itislikelythatasenergycostsrise,

solarpowerwillbecomemoreprotable.Currentinvestments

by homeowners and the public sector will probably pay forthemselves over the lifetime of the equipment. Grid-delivered

solarelectricalenergywouldalsopresentecienciesofscaleover household-scale solar installations. However, such detail is

beyond the scope of this report.

Theestimateswerederivedbyrsttakingthedierencein

carbon emissions emitted by the average single-family home(1,600squarefeet)andmulti-familyunits(1,000squarefeet)

fromagrid-poweredhousetoaPVandthermalunit(Table3).

Next, the carbon savings of the solar PV and thermal units wereused to calculate how much CO2 would be saved by reducing the

electric and gas inputs. These CO2 savings were converted usingthe assumptions in Table 1. The savings are multiplied by the

number of single-family and multi-family homes in each urbanvillage(Table4).

CO2

Emission Reductions by Installing Rootop Solar by 2020Table 3

Projected Change in Energy Use rom 2000 Baseline rom Installing Rootop Solar in Urban Villages (in bbl/y)Table 4

BaselineProjected

(Business-as-Usual) P ro je ct ed (P V) P ro je ct ed ( Th er ma l)


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GHG Emission ReductionsVillage Wireless Network

EcocityBuildersandtheOaklandTechnologyExchange(OTX)

plan to collaborate to reduce carbon emissions upstreamthrough reusing computers and sharing internet. OTX has been

refurbishing and giving away 1,000 computers a year since1998. Research has shown that computers in the home increase

childachievementandentrepreneurship.However,only50%ofAfrican-Americanhomeshaveacomputerandonly40%have

accesstotheinternet(Fairlie2005,2006).SinceWestOakland

is predominantly African-American, providing internet access canbe a way to increase human capital and job opportunities right

at home. By reusing computers, the air pollution associated withmanufacturing and transporting a new one is avoided. B

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