#savee12th

musings on the architecture of Oakland City Hall : Acoustics, Police, Solid Doors + Vaulted Ceilings

I tried to get into the Oakland City Council meeting yesterday. But Police were blocking the door. I was there because of a vote that might reverse the decision to build market rate (aka luxury) housing on the E 12th St Parcel of Public Land. I waited in the atrium, flooded with light and people. Video and audio of the meeting could have been played into the atrium. It wasn't. The big doors were shut. We couldn't even see in.

Then a flood of people, (marked by their banner: Save the E12th Parcel for the People) came out of council chambers, chanting and singing. Hoping to reach through their presence and noise, I found out later, the council members that had retreated to a back room to vote. The high vaulted stone ceilings simultaneously magnified and muted their words such that they became unintelligible. It was confusing to be an outsider there, wanting to participate, but unsure of what was happening.

The council voted for the Urban Core/Market Rate housing plan 6-1. Large groups can inter-communicate through raised voices or signs. Intentionally poor acoustics and incomplete lines of sight hinder these means and seed confusion. And confusion is the most insidious antidote to organization. While violence might make people scared, injured, or dead, it also makes people angry, and angry people do things. Confused people don't know what to do.

The City of Oakland was set to sell the 12th Street remainder parcel to Urban Core (a private developer), who would build a tower of market rate condos along the shores of Lake Merritt. The people, however, were not having it. In a city that is experiencing a swell of housing prices, market rate condos are not affordable to neighborhood residents, largely working class people of color, many of whom are tenants and at high risk of being pushed out by gentrifying forces. Furthermore, the sale was illegal, as residential development of public land sold requires at least %15 affordable housing.

People pushed back, and pushed back hard. Eastlake United for Justice, the East 12th Coalition, and Public Advocates were among the organizations that forced the city to halt the sale of the property. In response to a call for alternative proposals, the E 12th St Coalition brought together 200 residents to put together a “People’s Proposal”.

The resulting document reads, “Over 30 plans and elevations were drawn and annotated by WishList participants. It was all documented and analyzed by the design team. Spatial distribution studies for housing, community, and commercial spaces and for open and green spaces were generated from participant drawings. The resulting massing diagram reflects participants preferences for a building that is similar to the massing of housing along the east bank of Lake Merritt, pictured above. The WishList drawings are consistent with written and verbal feedback prioritizing the following: 1. community control, 2. affordability and accessibility, and 3. flexibility for different uses in building spaces”

SOURCES:

The E. 12th WishList: A People’s Proposal PDF