The Free Broadway Shuttle offers fast connections from BART, San Francisco Bay Ferry, Amtrak, Amtrak San Joaquins and Capitol Corridor to downtown Oakland offices, restaurants, local shops, social services and entertainment venues.
The goal of the Modernizing Transportation Impact Review (TIR) project is to better align the City of Oakland’s approach to transportation impact analysis with adopted plans and polices, which promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of multimodal transportation networks and a diversity of land uses.
Urban farming, the small-scale cultivation of crops, has become increasingly popular throughout Oakland and the United States. To help support this vital movement and encourage local food production, the City of Oakland recently updated its zoning regulations related to urban agriculture. Read on for more about what is permitted "outright" for Oakland residents, and what types of activities require permits in different zones. Profiles of several local urban farming projects are also showcased below.
The City of Oakland updated its Planning Code on July 15, 2014 to comply with California State Law Senate Bill 2, 2007, (SB 2). SB 2 requires cities to permit emergency shelters in at least one zoning district without a conditional use permit or other discretionary action. City staff worked with stakeholders and the public to develop policy options related to appropriate locations in Oakland for emergency shelters. Emergency shelter performance and development standards were also collaboratively developed.
Developing a specific plan involves ongoing community engagement with the City's process of research, goal-setting, policy development, assessment of policy impacts, and development of implementable policies and action steps.
Documents developed as part of the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan process or used in the process of creating the plan, including requests for proposals to develop the plan and other Oakland projects and publications
When your construction is going to impact a natural habitat (e.g. a creek) or man-made infrastructure (e.g. a sidewalk) you will need an engineering permit.
At the City of Oakland, we're committed to green building and sustainability. How buildings are constructed greatly impacts the environment, the economy, and our health. Green building can lower those impacts with environmentally friendly ways to design, build, and operate them. It can also save you money! Read below for more about Oakland's green building requirements and links to further resources to get you started.
Learn about how Oakland determines the relative importance of properties.
Oakland has embarked on a series of plans for creating sustainable and vibrant neighborhoods. Click on any of the area-specific plans below for further details.
The Downtown Oakland Specific Plan (DOSP) was adopted by City Council on July 16, 2024. This comprehensive plan is the first of its kind for Downtown Oakland. It will guide downtown development to meet Oakland’s projected housing and employment needs over the next 20 years, while preserving and enhancing the dynamic culture that Oaklanders treasure.
The Broadway Valdez District Specific Plan envisions the district as a “complete” neighborhood that supports socially- and economically-sustainable mixed use development; increases the generation and capture of local sales tax revenue; celebrates the cultural and architectural influences of the neighborhood’s past and present-day prosperity, and implements a “green,” “transit-first” strategy that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and the use of non-renewable resources.
The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) evaluates a proposed project's impacts on the physical environment, such as traffic, air pollution, historic and archeological resources, biology, geology, public services and utilities, and hazardous materials. An EIR also recommends steps to avoid or minimize those impacts, called mitigation measures.
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