#5 Oakland: Planting a Few Seeds

Former Mayor Jerry Brown, whose term ended in January, has overseen a plan to bring 10,000 new residents into a redeveloped city center. The plan is dramatically increasing the downtown population, reducing sprawl, and making public transit more efficient--all while giving the city's urban center a dose of energy. Farmers markets, community gardens, and green buildings further support the city's move toward sustainability.

Oakland is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the US. While its expensive housing (#44) puts it out of reach for many Americans, it's more affordable than other Bay Area cities, including San Francisco and San Jose.

Healthy Living

Oakland's bayside location keeps its air cleaner (#4) than that of most American cities, with fresh Pacific breezes coming in through the Golden Gate and blowing straight at Oakland's port. Temperatures are pleasantly moderated by these cool breezes. The sun comes out more than it does in fog-enshrouded San Francisco, making Oakland a great setting for outdoor recreation and fitness.

On weekends and evenings, Oaklanders love to walk, jog, bike, and play around Lake Merritt, a 140-acre estuary adjacent to downtown, and in the other 65 parks and 29 regional parks covering more than 97,000 acres in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The city's eight farmers markets and 36 community gardens support its #9 ranking for food and agriculture.

Water quality (#37) ranks below average, with 18 pollutants found in the water by the Environmental Protection Agency, 5 of which exceed the agency's recommended limits. If you live in Oakland, it's a good idea to filter your water.

Getting Around

From 2000 to 2004, Oakland's public transit commuter use has increased more than in any US city we looked at, from 17 percent to 22 percent. Not only does this improve regional air quality; it also keeps money in the local economy that would otherwise leave the nation for imported oil.

The combined rate for biking and walking to work is just over 4 percent, which is below average for most of the larger, older US cities in our study. (This may reflect the number of people who commute across the bay to San Francisco or into Silicon Valley for jobs.) It will be interesting to see if the percentage improves with the continuing development of downtown residential neighborhoods.

Economic Factors

In conjunction with graduate students from the University of California in neighboring Berkeley, Oakland has created a plan to source 30 percent of its food locally. Oakland has demonstrated its leadership in supporting the expansion of farmers markets, community gardens, and school gardening programs.

Oakland ranks #17 in green building, with six registered and one certified green building, and derives two megawatts of solar power and 17 percent of its energy supply from renewable sources. This gives it a higher percentage of renewable energy than any other city SustainLane analyzed. Oakland installed 1.1 megawatt solar arrays in 2005, one of the largest municipal installations in the nation.

The city does face a serious earthquake risk, placing it at #48 for natural disasters, a lower ranking than even at-risk neighbors San Francisco and San Jose.

The city has also been challenged to retain jobs from its manufacturing base. Light manufacturing and/or assembly for solar and other renewable energy technologies could provide the "green collar" jobs that new mayor Ron Dellums has been pushing to create.

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