Policymakers have tried to respond to the massive increase in vehicle dwellings.
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’s homeless population surpasses 5,000 people during the pandemic
But emergency COVID-19 measures prevented a “catastrophic increase,” new data shows.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Could Oakland take a page out of the A’s Howard Terminal plan to build more affordable housing?
Some officials want to set up an “infrastructure financing district”—similar to the ballpark funding proposal—but to build more homes across Oakland.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland rent increases would be capped at 3% under new proposal
Councilmember Carroll Fife wants to further limit price hikes for rent-controlled buildings.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland’s population is shrinking, after a decade of growth
The number of residents in the city dropped by 1.3% in 2021, but it’s unclear who exactly is leaving.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland Home Histories: Living in a long lost lesbian bar
A queer couple who own a bright blue live-work space in East Oakland were delighted to learn about its past as The Jubilee.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland tenants facing highest rent hike in decades
Starting in July, landlords of rent-controlled properties can raise rents by 6.7%, because of inflation.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Homeless youth tell Oakland officials to take action
At a City Council hearing, young people told harrowing and triumphant personal stories and asked for more resources.
Posted inHealth & Environment
Redwoods, housing, and traffic: ‘Map Atlas’ illustrates Oakland’s systems
A new resource created for the city’s General Plan process is a treasure trove of information on Oakland’s neighborhoods and resources.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Thousands of tenants and landlords asked for rent relief, but Oakland’s running out of money
Applications are currently closed for the city’s rent relief program, due to high demand.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Home Depot or housing? Residents push back on proposal for giant Rockridge lot
The property at Broadway and Pleasant Valley Avenue has sat vacant for years, as development has filled in the rest of the intersection.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Report: 800 homeless people died in Alameda County in 3 years
The main causes of death were overdoses and medical conditions, many “preventable.”
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland and Alameda County’s eviction moratoriums are still in effect
News about California’s eviction and rent relief programs has caused some confusion for local tenants and landlords.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
They built tiny houses on an abandoned lot. Then it was sold out from under them
The county is required to auction off tax-delinquent properties. But the Coyote Bush Collective wants to preserve their garden site in West Oakland.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Man dies in RV fire in West Oakland
The Wood Street encampment fire destroyed six vehicles and displaced five people.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Find out where your grandparents lived in Oakland with new 1950 census records
Details from 72 years ago are available for the first time, and paint a clearer picture of life in Alameda County and beyond.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland Home Histories: A legacy of Black homeownership in Maxwell Park
A family buys a charming Tudor house in a moment of immense transition.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
After a fire, more problems for city’s Eastlake tiny-home village
Dewey Academy, the OUSD school next to Lakeview Village, sent a letter to the city demanding changes.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Kaplan and Fife urge city to seek affordable housing on more public properties
The Clay Street Garage closed in 2016. Two city councilmembers say there’s a better—if costly—use for the site.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Fire destroys tiny homes at city-run homeless shelter near Lake Merritt
Nobody was injured but five people were displaced, said the Oakland Fire Department.
