Gertrude Stein once famously said of Oakland, “There is no there there.” Nancy Pfund, of the VC firm DBL Investors, makes a case for how modern Oakland is proving Stein wrong.
It seems like everyone is starting a little artisinal food company in their kitchen these days. Most of them will fail. But a new institute in San Francisco (where else?) is trying to add a little business acumen to would-be food entrepreneurs' recipes in the hopes of growing a more robust local food system.
Many cities in America are facing the slow decline of their main streets and shopping areas. But a new program in Oakland might be the key to reviving vibrant, local commercial centers. All it takes is a little free rent and some entrepreneurial spirit.
He's being called "an urban planning prodigy" with "an uncanny sense of how things actually get done in an American city." Daniel Jacobson hasn't yet graduated from Stanford, but he has produced a plan strong enough to catch the attention of a major city.
Walter Hood transforms run-of-the-mill public spaces—city parks, highway underpasses—into pillars of the communities they serve. His goal: to prove that every place, and every person, can benefit from good design.
The closer marijuana comes to full legalization status in California, the more likely it is that the plant will be treated like any other crop--that is, as an industrial cash cow that often squeezes out small farmers. And the marijuana industrialization process is, in fact, already beginning.
Buses and trains may trump cars on the carbon front, but for true sustainability, why not power public transit with alternative fuels? AC Transit has three hybrid-electric, hydrogen fuel-cell buses up and running in Oakland and surrounding areas, with plans to add 12 next-gen models to its fleet by the end of this year. Each diesel bus that is replaced saves 130 tons of carbon-dioxide emissions annually.
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