Equity in Downtown Oakland

02/23/2019

The City has released a preliminary draft of the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan. See p.42-47 for a summary of the draft equity framework, follow https://buff.ly/2VfwWFA for info about upcoming meetings, and visit http://bit.ly/oakdosp to read the preliminary draft and share your thoughts in a survey.

02/08/2019

The City has released a preliminary draft of the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan.
Read the plan https://buff.ly/2Gi5yDK. See p.42-47 for a summary of the draft equity framework.

Follow for info about upcoming meetings where you can share your thoughts.

09/06/2017

Check out the NEW video by Oakland artist Korise BigTunes Jubert showcasing and Equity in Downtown Oakland's mission in the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan.

Read more at www.EQTDTO.com and learn about how you can get involved!

KEEPING THE TOWN IN DOWNTOWN The city of Oakland is rooted in community, arts, culture, and diversity. A city where innovation, creativity, and collaboration...

09/02/2017

Oakland’s downtown specific plan process now specifically addresses ways local government can promote through policy and infrastructure for the built environment at the heart of the city....EQUITY SOUNDS GOOD -- BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Get to know Social Equity Team member Kalima Rose as she shares her perspective: “I work at PolicyLink and we have spent a lot of time thinking about this. So our collective definition is that equity is just and fair inclusion into a society in which all can participate and prosper...Downtown plays a role in the economy of the region. Downtown plays a role in people’s access to arts and cultural expression. Downtown is the place where services for youth are centered. Many health services for low-income and communities of color are located downtown. So those are the things that are not usually thought deeply about in downtown plans. They are often thought about for the new things cities want to bring instead of anchoring the things that we value.”

Read more perspectives shared by the Social Equity Team in our recent blog post (http://ow.ly/eubR30eDurV). What does EQUITY mean to YOU? Share your perspective and tag us at

09/01/2017

Oakland’s downtown specific plan process now specifically addresses ways local government can promote through policy and infrastructure for the built environment at the heart of the city....EQUITY SOUNDS GOOD -- BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Get to know Social Equity Team member Jme McLean as she shares her perspective: “We live in a country (a planet) with a long and complex history of power dynamics, with insiders and outsiders, deciders and those for whom decisions are made. This is antithetical to a democracy. There are so many factors: Colonization, slavery, genocide. Land ownership, housing, employment. Health care, education, the right to vote. It all adds up, and it’s all connected with the world we live in today. The good news is that these systems and histories were built by people – so the systems and future can be changed by people. Every system we are part of – every decision we make – there is an equity choice available, and an equity choice to make.”

Read more perspectives shared by the Social Equity Team in our recent blog post (http://ow.ly/eubR30eDurV). What does EQUITY mean to YOU? Share your perspective and tag us at

08/31/2017

Oakland’s downtown specific plan process now specifically addresses ways local government can promote through policy and infrastructure for the built environment at the heart of the city....EQUITY SOUNDS GOOD -- BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Get to know Social Equity Team member Dwayne Marsh as he shares his perspective: “Well I think in the current context, I’d be more specific in defining equity – I would define racial equity. And our textbook definition is where race doesn’t predict one’s life outcomes… and as a consequence of eliminating those inequities that exist, we have to improve conditions for everybody...the processes actually created the inequities that we have, if you don’t pay attention to the processes as you try to get to a better outcome, you actually aren’t going to get there. This is both a chance to change outcomes and the process for downtown to be a welcoming and viable community for all communities, and it offers a way to create a process where you can get those outcomes.”

Read more perspectives shared by the Social Equity Team in our recent blog post (http://ow.ly/eubR30eDurV). What does EQUITY mean to YOU? Share your perspective and tag us at

08/30/2017

Oakland’s downtown specific plan process now specifically addresses ways local government can promote through policy and infrastructure for the built environment at the heart of the city....EQUITY SOUNDS GOOD -- BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Get to know Social Equity Team member Mike Lok as he shares his perspective:
“You know equity is important to me because I think, for Oakland in general, our strength is, you know our diversity… and diversity more than just like different restaurants and different public arts, but just really an expression of different viewpoints and cultures and being able to you know, just like tolerate each other, or co-exist together, but really grow together as a community.”

Read more perspectives shared by the Social Equity Team in our recent blog post (http://ow.ly/eubR30eDurV). What does EQUITY mean to YOU? Share your perspective and tag us at

08/30/2017

Oakland’s downtown specific plan process now specifically addresses ways local government can promote through policy and infrastructure for the built environment at the heart of the city....EQUITY SOUNDS GOOD -- BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Get to know Social Equity Team member Julia Liou as she shares her perspective:
“I guess equity for me… maybe I’m looking at it more as addressing barriers. So making sure that those who are most vulnerable, from our most vulnerable communities… are able to access the resources and are enabled to reach their highest potential whether that’s health, education, social mobility... So we can raise up our most vulnerable, we raise up everybody.”

Read more perspectives shared by the Social Equity Team in our recent blog post (http://ow.ly/eubR30eDurV). What does EQUITY mean to YOU? Share your perspective and tag us at

08/28/2017

Oakland’s downtown specific plan process now specifically addresses ways local government can promote through policy and infrastructure for the built environment at the heart of the city....EQUITY SOUNDS GOOD -- BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Get to know Social Equity Team member Dave Javid as he shares his perspective: “But in this case, working within a community like Oakland, equity can mean something totally different. Maybe it’s not those who don’t have a voice, but have intentionally not been integrated into the process and not been given an opportunity.”

Read more perspectives shared by the Social Equity Team in our recent blog post (http://ow.ly/eubR30eDurV).

What does EQUITY mean to YOU? Share your perspective and tag us at

08/27/2017

Oakland’s downtown specific plan process now specifically addresses ways local government can promote through policy and infrastructure for the built environment at the heart of the city....EQUITY SOUNDS GOOD -- BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Get to know Social Equity Team member Greg Hodge as he shares his perspective: “[If] we give everybody the same thing in downtown, then we’re going to basically perpetuate the disparities that we already see. Equity requires us to do more. It requires us to apply unequal resources to unequal needs...Equity means taking note of the historical and contemporary factors that put people into a particular place and figure out what are the things we need to do more of to get them to a place where equality would be feasible...I think this project has a lot of opportunity to give a more robust approach to how equity plays out in Oakland.”

Read more perspectives shared by the Social Equity Team in our recent blog post (http://ow.ly/eubR30eDurV).

What does EQUITY mean to YOU? Share your perspective and tag us at

08/26/2017

Oakland’s downtown specific plan process now specifically addresses ways local government can promote through policy and infrastructure for the built environment at the heart of the city....EQUITY SOUNDS GOOD -- BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Get to know Social Equity Team member Sarah Filley as she shares her perspective: “Equity is the distribution of resources and opportunities in equal ways based on need to right historic wrongs...For me, having a definition of arts and culture is really a primary role in imagining the future of the City of Oakland… We’re trained to problem - solve, and we’re trained to take risks as entrepreneurs, and we’re trained to imagine into the future in ways that other sectors are not.”

Read more perspectives shared by the Social Equity Team in our recent blog post (http://ow.ly/eubR30eDurV).

What does EQUITY mean to YOU? Share your perspective and tag us at

08/25/2017

Oakland’s downtown specific plan process now specifically addresses ways local government can promote through policy and infrastructure for the built environment at the heart of the city....EQUITY SOUNDS GOOD -- BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Get to know Social Equity Team member Tessa Cruz as she shares her perspective: “Equity encompasses the fact that people need different things to succeed and it’s recognizing that those different things aren’t the same...Equity is about meeting people where they are to ensure that they have access to those opportunities necessary to succeed.”

Read more perspectives shared by the Social Equity Team in our recent blog post (http://ow.ly/eubR30eDurV).

What does EQUITY mean to YOU? Share your perspective and tag us at Equity in Downtown Oakland

The dictionary defines it as “the quality of being fair and impartial,” but equity also has other meanings, such as the value of stock shares, or...