Displacement is the single biggest threat facing many communities in Oakland today. The Fruitvale District, which is Oakland’s densest and most diverse neighborhood, is in peril of drastic and irreversible transformation as the area’s historic Latino, African American, and East Asian communities are driven out by rising cost of living.
Market rate rents increased more than twice the rate of incomes in the past 10 years. The new Bus Rapid Transit Line along International Boulevard will bring more changes to the neighborhood, placing pressure on the backbone small businesses serving the community. With nearly 30% of Oakland residents as first-generation immigrants, it is imperative to have smart, equitable economic development strategies that address the immigrant experience, and preserve the culture of a neighborhood.
So how do we do development without displacement? This is the question that propels the work of The Unity Council, a community development organization that has been working in Fruitvale for over four decades. Based in East Oakland’s Fruitvale District, The Unity Council leads the solutions for economic growth that lift the area’s most vulnerable populations on an individual, famiy, and neighborhood level.
