Out and About the Oakland Neighborhoods

A PHOTO PROJECT THAT GIVES PEOPLE IN OAKLAND'S 146 NEIGHBORHOODS A CHANCE TO TELL THE WORLD ABOUT WHERE THEY LIVE

Income inequality is alive and well in San Francisco and moving east

My story

19th & Telegraph Oakland California

A friend invited us to a party in my old neighborhood on Sunday. Lots of expansion going on. I would say that was a good thing if it weren't for the fact that the changes will not benefit the majority of the people living in the neighborhood now and will be unaffordable to many other Oakland residents. I lived in this neighborhood, called "Uptown", until 2 years ago when the rent finally got so high that I was pretty much forced to move (when I left my tiny 1 bdrm, 600 sq ft apt, the rent was $2,250/mo).

For the past 25 years or so, after businesses moved out to the suburbs, the downtown area was considered undesirable and many people from San Francisco snubbed their noses at it and were afraid to visit let alone live here. Now that rents have skyrocketed out of control in San Francisco, those same people have been driven across the Bay to Oakland and are moving into those same areas they used to despise and so the Oakland residents, like me, are being pushed out. Of course now the area is being fixed up and I'm sure will be considered very safe.

This is Uptown

My old apt bldg (by the same name) is in the background. 

My apt was small, with only a single small closet (I had to buy myself a wardrobe) but it was very sunny and I really enjoyed the neighborhood with its sense of community (despite the police sirens at all hours of the day and night, the shootings, muggings and the vagrants going through our garbage). It was convenient to transportation (I could get to my office in the Financial District of San Francisco in 13 mins) and I loved all the trendy restaurants and wine bars.

Behind the fence I see that a new building is going up here - The original plan was for a housing unit for lower income residents and a park for the kiddies to play
now I hear it's going to be a boutique hotel.

This is Oakland

and this is Oakland