Goodbye from the Bay

For all y'all who haven't had the pleasure of staying in the Bay for an extended amount of time (I didn't grow up here but have come to love it) here is some music to remember it.

Good TED talk about cities - "The Shareable Future of Cities"

TED Talk "The Shareable Future of Cities".

http://www.ted.com/talks/alex_steffen.html

Bill McKibben in Oakland

Event title: Oakland, CA: Bill McKibben at The Chabot Science Center

Event date: September 9, 2011 6:00 PM

Location: 10000 Skyline Boulevard Oakland, California

Bill McKibben, Middlebury’s Schumann Distinguished Scholar of Environmental Studies, will speak about global warming and alternative energy, as part of “Future Fridays,” a program hosted by the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland.

This event is open to the public.

Tickets: $23 ($29 at the door and subject to availability)

To purchase tickets for this event, visit http://www.chabotspace.org/calendar.htm?date=9-9-2011&p=534809

Bill McKibben is a really awesome guy and an important climate change advocate and author. Check out the organization he started http://www.350.org/. If you are still in the area in September go see him speak!

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The Air We Breathe

In the affordable housing lecture this week, I asked a question about how to remediate the health effects from particulate matter when transit oriented developments are built near freeways. The answer that we got was essentially that there wasn't a whole a lot of follow-up research on new developments and these harmful effects, however, I just came across this article on "Black Lung Lofts," in Los Angeles, which summarizes the some of the recent research quantifying the harm.

As planners, how can we bring together the architects, developers, and public health officials to ensure that there are design measures in place to reduce the harm of living near freeways.

Oakland in Action!

Oakland is bustling these days. Community pride and solidarity are on the rise. The green scene is quickly evolving and has a very different look and feel than Berkeley's. This event is quintessential of early 2010s era eco-consciousness, homegrown in Oakland. The list of service projects below should give you a taste of the Town... Check out the map at

http://www.ellabakercenter.org/ under Events for details.

Throw Down for the Town: The Oakland Service Festival

On August 13, the Ella Baker Center will lead Oakland in the first Oakland Service Festival and we hope that you will join us! We've confirmed over 20 service projects throughout Oakland that need your help to succeed.

Sign up for a project now

From urban gardens to beautifying Lake Merritt, sign up for a project to help our city thrive. Click on the map pins below for sign up links (or scroll down to the list).

Oakland Service Festival Schedule

• Saturday, August 13, 2011
• 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM, 20+ service projects throughout Oakland
• 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM, Mosswood Park Celebration

After four hours of people-powered community service, join the celebration at Mosswood Park. There will be food for volunteers, dance, and a solar paneled hip-hop concert. This is a family-friendly event and an opportunity to build community after a hard day's work.

We hope you will join us for this exciting event as we Throw Down for the Town.

Oakland Service Festival Projects - Mapped:

Oakland Service Festival Projects - Listed

• Beautify Jefferson Park with First Unitarian Church of Oakland, Jefferson Square Park, Oakland 94607
• Beautify Lafayette Park with First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 635 11th St, Oakland 94612
• Beautify Laney College with the Gammas, East 10th Street and 2nd St, Oakland, 94606
  
• Beautify the Bus Stop, 14th Ave and E 15th St, Oakland 94606
• Book Room Setup with East Bay Children's Book Project, Mosswood Recreation Center, 3612 Webster, Oakland, 94609
• Community Market with City Slicker Farms, 16th and Center Streets, Oakland, CA
• Courtland Creek Beautification with ACE Arts, Courtland Creek, Oakland 94619
• Create a Dog Park with ODOG, 5144 Broadway, Oakland 94611
• Deep East Deep Clean with Youth Uprising and TransFormCA, 8200 International Boulevard, Oakland 94621-2234
• Library Overhaul with GO Public Schools, Garfield Elementary School. 1640 22nd ave, Oakland 94606
• Senior Service with Piedmont Gardens, 110 41 St, Oakland 94611
• Urban Garden Project, Acorn Woodland Elementary. 1025 81st Ave, Oakland 94621
• Urban Gardening at St. Columba, St Columba Catholic Church. 6401 San Pablo Ave, Oakland 94608
  
• Bringing Back the Community Garden, 9600 Sunnyside St, Oakland 94603
• Canvas to Take Back Oakland Block by Block, 18th and Adeline, Oakland 94607
• Honor the Hungry with Alameda County Community Food Bank, 675 23rd Street Oakland 94612
• Build Day with Habitat for Humanity, 970 81st St, Oakland 94621
• Lake Cleanup with Lake Merritt Institute, Boating Center. 568 Bellevue Ave, Oakland 94610
• Re-greening Cesar Chavez Park with the Unity Council, 3700 Foothill Blvd, Oakland 94601
• Senior Bingo with Convenant House (FULL), 5636 Bancroft Ave, Oakland 94605
• Survey Collection with EBASE, Mosswood Park. MacArthur blvd and Broadway, Oakland 94611
• Tree Planting with Urban Releaf, Market St & Mead Ave Oakland, CA 94607
• Urban Gardening with People's Grocery, The California Hotel. 3501 San Pablo Ave, Emeryville 94608
• Urban Gardening with United Roots, 2781 Telegraph, Oakland 94612
• Wetlands Restoration with Save the Bay, Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline, Oakland 94621