Oakland’s vacant property tax is meant to encourage housing on empty lots. Is there a loophole that does the opposite?
Author Archives: Natalie Orenstein
Natalie Orenstein covers housing and homelessness for The Oaklandside. She was previously on staff at Berkeleyside, where her extensive reporting on the legacy of school desegregation received recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists NorCal and the Education Writers Association. Natalie’s reporting has also appeared in The J Weekly, The San Francisco Chronicle and elsewhere, and she’s written about public policy for a number of research institutes and think tanks. Natalie lives in Oakland, grew up in Berkeley, and has only left her beloved East Bay once, to attend Pomona College.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland Home Histories: Wartime housing, mink scarves, and making room for change
An Adams Point triplex owner asks: Which parts of the past are worth preserving?
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
With $6.6 million grant, homeless youth in Alameda County will design programs for their community
Young unhoused people in Oakland and surrounding cities will lead the decision-making process about how to use the federal grant.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
What’s house-hunting in Oakland like when you have a disability?
Stephen Beard, a Bay Area real estate agent who helps clients find accessible housing, shares reflections and resources.
Posted inOaklandside
Oaklanders speak on what the city’s guaranteed income program means to them
In the coming months, The Oaklandside will be periodically checking in with three participants in the city’s pilot initiative, to see how an extra $500 a month is impacting their lives.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
‘Care village’ brings massages, rent help, vaccines to downtown Oakland on Friday
The event, hosted by LavaMaeX and the city of Oakland, features numerous service providers, including health, employment, and housing agencies.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Proposed ban on backyard cottages in the Oakland hills moves forward
The Oakland Planning Commission approved a controversial policy limiting the construction of ADUs in the hills, hoping to ease evacuation during fires.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland landlord hit with $3.9 million penalty for hazardous housing conditions
An Alameda County judge found that the Mann family rented dangerous units to “vulnerable tenants” in East Oakland.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland Home Histories: Tracing 100 years at a quirky Temescal apartment building
We’re launching a series exploring the history of residential buildings in Oakland—and the people who’ve lived in them. Want us to write about your home? Let us know!
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Census 2020: Interactive California map shows how your Oakland neighborhood has changed
An East Bay resident created a tool that illustrates demographic and housing shifts in census tracts throughout the state.