Oakland, California

Oakland is a lively city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. It is the biggest city in Alameda County, California.

Oakland is very important because it has a big port that helps many ships come and go. This port is one of the busiest on the whole West Coast of the United States.

Long ago, Oakland was full of tall oak trees and grassy fields. Over time, people began to cut down trees and grow crops there. In the 1850s, a big university started in Oakland, and the city became an important place for trains.

One special spot in Oakland is Lake Merritt, which was the first place in the United States to be protected for wildlife.

History

Main article: History of Oakland, California

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Oakland, California.

Ohlone era

The earliest known inhabitants of the area were the Huchiun natives, who lived there for thousands of years. The Huchiun belonged to a linguistic grouping later called the Ohlone (a Miwok word meaning "western people"). In Oakland, they were concentrated around Lake Merritt and Temescal Creek, a stream that enters the San Francisco Bay at Emeryville.

Spanish and Mexican era

In 1772, the area that later became Oakland was colonized, along with the rest of California, by Spanish settlers for the king of Spain. In the early 19th century, the Spanish crown granted the East Bay area to Luis María Peralta for his Rancho San Antonio. The grant was confirmed by the successor Mexican republic upon its independence from Spain. Upon his death in 1842, Peralta divided his land among his four sons. Most of Oakland was within the shares given to Antonio Maria and Vicente. The portion of the parcel that is now Oakland was called Encinar (misrendered at an early date and carried forward as "encinal") – Spanish for "oak grove" – due to the large oak forest that covered the area, which eventually led to the city's name.

City beginnings

In 1851, three men—Horace Carpentier, Edson Adams, and Andrew Moon—began developing what is now downtown Oakland. In 1852, the Town of Oakland was incorporated by the state legislature. During this time, Oakland had 75–100 inhabitants, two hotels, a wharf, two warehouses, and only cattle trails. Two years later, on March 25, 1854, Oakland re-incorporated as the City of Oakland. Horace Carpentier was elected the first mayor, though a scandal ended his mayorship in less than a year. In 1853, a preparatory academy was founded in Oakland that soon became the College of California, and in 1869, the first campus of the University of California. The university moved just north to Berkeley in the 1870s.

During the 1850s, just as gold was discovered in California, Oakland started growing and further developing because land was becoming too expensive in San Francisco. People in China were struggling financially, so they began migrating to Oakland, and many were recruited to work on railroads. However, the Chinese struggled to settle because they were discriminated against by the white community.

The city and its environs quickly grew with the railroads, becoming a major rail terminal in the late 1860s and 1870s. In 1868, the Central Pacific constructed the Oakland Long Wharf at Oakland Point, the site of today's Port of Oakland.

A number of horsecar and cable car lines were constructed in Oakland during the latter half of the 19th century. The first electric streetcar set out from Oakland to Berkeley in 1891, and other lines were converted and added over the course of the 1890s. The various streetcar companies operating in Oakland were acquired by Francis "Borax" Smith and consolidated into what eventually became known as the Key System, the predecessor of today's publicly owned AC Transit.

1900–1950s

Oakland was one of the cities in California most impacted by the San Francisco plague of 1900–1904. Quarantine measures were set in place at the Oakland ports. By 1908, over 5,000 people were detained in quarantine. During this period Oakland did not have sufficient health facilities, so some of the infected patients were treated at home.

At the time of incorporation in 1852, Oakland had consisted of the territory that lay south of today's major intersection of San Pablo Avenue, Broadway, and Fourteenth Street. The city gradually annexed farmlands and settlements to the east and the north. Oakland's rise to industrial prominence, and its subsequent need for a seaport, led to the digging of a shipping and tidal channel in 1902. This resulted in the nearby town of Alameda being made an island. In 1906, the city's population doubled with refugees made homeless after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.

In 1908, the lawyer, former miner, and newspaper owner Homer Wood (1880–1976) suggested to his friend Frank Bilger of Blake and Bilger Rock Quarry and Paving Company that he organize a gathering to establish a Rotary Club east of the bay. On November 27, 1908, Homer took a ferry across the bay and met for lunch with Frank and twenty three other businessmen at the Hotel Metropole. This gathering became the first meeting of the Tri-City Rotary Club, renamed in 1911 The Rotary Club of Oakland, the third Rotary Club in the world. This group established the tradition of weekly meetings, something most clubs worldwide follow today.

In 1917, General Motors opened an automobile factory in East Oakland called Oakland Assembly. It produced Chevrolet cars and then GMC trucks until 1963, when it was moved to Fremont in southern Alameda County. Also in 1916, the Fageol Motor Company chose East Oakland for their first factory, manufacturing farming tractors from 1918 to 1923. By 1920, Oakland was the home of numerous manufacturing industries, including metals, canneries, bakeries, internal combustion engines, automobiles, and shipbuilding. By 1929, when Chrysler expanded with a new plant there, Oakland had become known as the "Detroit of the West," referring to the major auto manufacturing center in Michigan.

Oakland expanded during the 1920s, as its population expanded with factory workers. Approximately 13,000 homes were built in the 3 years between 1921 and 1924, more than during the 13 years between 1907 and 1920. Many of the large downtown office buildings, apartment buildings, and single-family houses still standing in Oakland were built during the 1920s.

Russell Clifford Durant established Durant Field at 82nd Avenue and East 14th Street in 1916. The first transcontinental airmail flight finished its journey at Durant Field on August 9, 1920, flown by Army Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker and Navy Lt. Bert Acosta. Durant Field was often called Oakland Airport, though the current Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport was soon established four miles (6.4 km) to the southwest.

During World War II, the East Bay Area was home to many war-related industries. Oakland's Moore Dry Dock Company expanded its shipbuilding capabilities and built over 100 ships. Valued at $100 million in 1943, Oakland's canning industry was its second-most-valuable war contribution after shipbuilding.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt called on defense industries with government contracts to integrate their workforces and provide opportunities for all Americans. Tens of thousands of laborers came from around the country. African Americans were part of the Great Migration by which five million persons left the South, mostly for the West, from 1940 to 1970.

In 1946, National City Lines (NCL), a General Motors holding company, acquired 64% of Key System stock; during the next several years NCL engaged in the conspiratorial dissolution of Oakland's electric streetcar system. The city's expensive electric streetcar fleet was converted to cheaper diesel buses. The state Legislature created the Alameda and Contra Costa Transit District in 1955, which operates today as AC Transit, the third-largest bus-only transit system in the nation.

After the war, as Oakland's shipbuilding industry declined and the automobile industry went through restructuring, many jobs were lost. In addition, labor unrest increased as workers struggled to protect their livelihoods. Oakland was the center of a general strike during the first week of December 1946, one of six cities across the country that had such a strike after World War II.

1960–1999

In 1960, Kaiser Corporation opened its new headquarters; it was the largest skyscraper in Oakland, as well as "the largest office tower west of Chicago" up to that time. In the postwar period, suburban development increased around Oakland, and wealthier residents moved to new housing.

Students Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party at Merritt College, which emphasized Black nationalism.

As in many other American cities during the 1980s, crack cocaine became a serious problem in Oakland.

In 1980, Oakland's Black population reached its 20th-century peak at approximately 47% of the overall city population.

The 6.9 M_w Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on October 17, 1989. The rupture was related to the San Andreas fault system and affected the entire San Francisco Bay Area. Many structures in Oakland were badly damaged including the double-decker portion of Interstate 880 that collapsed. The eastern span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge also sustained damage and was closed to traffic for one month.

On October 20, 1991, a massive firestorm swept down from the Berkeley/Oakland hills above the Caldecott Tunnel. Twenty-five people were killed, 150 people were injured, and nearly 4,000 homes destroyed. This was the worst urban firestorm in American history, until 2017.

During the mid-1990s, Oakland's economy began to recover as it transitioned to new types of jobs. In addition, the city participated in large development and urban renewal projects, concentrated especially in the downtown area, at the Port of Oakland, and at the Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport.

21st century

After his 1999 inauguration, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown continued his predecessor Elihu Harris' public policy of supporting downtown housing development.

Due to allegations of misconduct by the Oakland Police Department, the City of Oakland has paid claims for a total of US$57 million during the 2001–2011 timeframe to plaintiffs claiming police abuse.

African-Americans dropped to 28% of Oakland's population in 2010, from nearly half in 1980, due to fast-rising rents and an extreme housing crisis in the region.

The city inspected warehouses and live/work spaces after a fire broke out in the Ghost Ship warehouse, killing 36 people in 2016.

Oakland is the second U.S. city, after Denver, to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms. In June 2019, the City Council passed the resolution in a unanimous vote ending the investigation and imposition of criminal penalties for use and possession of natural entheogens.

In November 2019, two homeless mothers and their children illegally occupied a vacant three-bedroom house in West Oakland. The group, calling themselves Moms 4 Housing, said their goal was to protest what they said was a large number of vacant houses in Oakland owned by redevelopment companies while the city experienced a housing crisis. Two months later they were evicted from the house by three dozen sheriff's deputies, as hundreds of supporters demonstrated in favor of the women. The company that owns the house later said they would sell it to a nonprofit affordable housing group. As of 2019, Oakland's per-capita homeless rate was higher than San Francisco and Berkeley. Between 2014 and 2020, Oakland strengthened its protections for tenants in order to reduce the displacement of its long-time residents. However, since 2019, the city of Oakland has reduced the number of approved housing permits by more than 80%, further worsening the housing shortage in Oakland.

Between January 2020 and March 2022, Oakland suffered a disproportionate death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic and Delta cron hybrid variant within the San Francisco Bay Area.

In 2023, Oakland became the first city in American history to lose three professional major league sports teams to other cities within a span of five years.

Geography

Oakland is in the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay. The city covers 78 square miles, with 56 square miles of land and 22 square miles of water.

Oakland has many different areas, including downtown, Lake Merritt, East Oakland, North Oakland, West Oakland, and the Oakland Hills. Lake Merritt is a special place with both fresh and salt water, and it was the first wildlife refuge in the United States. Oakland has a mild climate with warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. The city gets plenty of sunshine and sometimes has fog, especially in the hills.

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported Oakland had a population of 440,646 people. The number of people living in each square mile was 7,898.30.

Religion

About 35% of people in Oakland say they follow a religion, and there are 417 different places of worship.

Major places of worship in Oakland include –

• 31st Street Islamic Center, Islam
• Allen Temple Baptist Church, American Baptist Churches USA and the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
• Ascension Cathedral, Greek Orthodox
• Beth Jacob Congregation, Modern Orthodox Judaism
• Cathedral of Christ the Light, Roman Catholic
• Chinese Community Church, United Methodist
• Elmhurst Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church
• First Congregational Church of Oakland, United Church of Christ
• First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, Presbyterian
• First Unitarian Church, Unitarian
• Green Pastures, Evangelistic Outreach Association
• His Gospel Christian Fellowship
• Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California, Islam
• Light-House Mosque, Islam
• Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, Jehovah's Witnesses
• Oakland California Temple, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Oakland City Church
• Oakland Bahá'í Center
• Second Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
• St. Paul Lutheran Church, Lutheran
• St. Vartan Armenian Church, Armenian Apostolic Church
• Temple Beth Abraham, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
• Temple Sinai, Reform Judaism

Race and ethnicity

The 2020 United States census reported that the racial makeup of Oakland was 35.5% White, 23.8% Black or African American, 15.5% Asian, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 0.9% Native American, and 6.9% from two or more races. There were 27.0% of Hispanic or Latino ancestry, of any race.

From the 2010 United States census the racial makeup of Oakland was 34.5% White (non-Hispanic White 25.9%), 28.0% African American, 0.8% Native American, 16.8% Asian (8.7% Chinese, 2.2% Vietnamese, 1.6% Filipino, 0.7% Cambodian, 0.7% Laotian, 0.6% Korean, 0.5% Japanese, 0.5% Indian, 0.1% Mongolian), 0.6% Pacific Islander (0.3% Tongan), 13.7% from other races, and 5.6% from two or more races. There were 25.4% people of Hispanic or Latino ancestry, of any race. 18.1% of the population were of Mexican descent, 1.9% Salvadoran, 1.3% Guatemalan, and 0.7% Puerto Rican.

2022 United States Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates

According to 2022 US Census Bureau estimates, Oakland's population declined to 430,531. The racial makeup was 31.1% White (29.7% Non-Hispanic White and 1.5% Hispanic White), 20.6% Black or African American, 1.3% Native American and Alaskan Native, 15.9% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 19.6% Other Race, and 11.3% from two or more races.

White Americans are the largest racial/ethnic group at either 31.1% (including White Hispanics) or 29.7% (excluding White Hispanics).

Hispanics have been the second largest ethnic group since 2012 when they displaced the Black population. However, Black Americans still form the second largest racial group. By ethnicity, 26.8% of the total population is Hispanic-Latino (of any race) and 73.2% is Non-Hispanic (of any race). The majority of Hispanics self-identify as Some Other Race (69.3%) with the remainder choosing White (5.4%), Multiracial (19.2%), Black (1.6%), American Indian and Alaskan Native (3.8%), Asian (0.7%), and Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (0.1%).

The Black population is the third largest ethnic group and second largest racial group at either 20.6% (including Black Hispanics) or 20.1% excluding Black Hispanics.

The Asian population continues to remain the fourth largest group at 15.9% of the population.

5.1% are of English ancestry, French (except Basque), 1.4% German, 6.1% Irish - 6.2% Italian, 3.1% Norwegian, 1.1% Polish - 1.7% Scottish and 1.0%Subsaharan African 2.5%.

The most common ancestries in Oakland are German, Irish, English, Italian and European. Spanish and Chinese are the most common non-English spoken languages.

Educational attainment and income

The greater Oakland area^[specify] has the fifth largest cluster of "elite zip codes" ranked by the number of households with the highest combination of income and education. 37.9% of residents over 25 years of age have bachelor's degree or higher. Oakland ranked among the top cities with residents with bachelor's degrees and graduate degrees per square mile.

Oakland ranks in the top 20 of American cities in median household income, with a 2012 value of US$51,863. In 2012, the median income for a household in the city was US$51,863 and the median income for a family was US$59,459. The mean income for a household was US$77,888 and the mean income for a family was US$90,948. Males had a median income of US$50,140 versus US$50,304 for females. The unemployment rate as of December 2013 was 9.7%.

In 2007 approximately 15.3 percent of families and 17.0 percent of the general population were below the poverty line, including 27.9 percent of those under age 18 and 13.1 percent of those age 65 or over. 0.7% of the population is homeless. Home ownership is 41% and 14% of rental units are subsidized.

As of the census of 2000, 19.4% of the population and 16.2% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 27.9% of those under the age of 18 and 13.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Households

The census reported 382,586 people (97.9% of the population) lived in households, 5,675 (1.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 2,463 (0.6%) were institutionalized.

There were 153,791 households, out of which 44,762 (29.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 50,797 (33.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 24,122 (15.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 8,799 (5.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 11,289 (7.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 3,442 (2.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 52,103 households (33.9%) were made up of individuals, and 13,778 (9.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49. There were 83,718 families (54.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.27.

The population was spread out, with 83,120 people (21.3%) under the age of 18, 36,272 people (9.3%) aged 18 to 24, 129,139 people (33.1%) aged 25 to 44, 98,634 people (25.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 43,559 people (11.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.

There were 169,710 housing units at an average density of 2,175.7 per square mile (840.0/km²), of which 153,791 were occupied, of which 63,142 (41.1%) were owner-occupied, and 90,649 (58.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.5%. 166,662 people (42.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 215,924 people (55.3%) lived in rental housing units.

Shifting of cultures

Oakland has consistently ranked as one of the most ethnically diverse major cities in the country. A 2019 analysis by WalletHub showed that Oakland was the most ethnoracially diverse city in the United States. The city's formerly most populous ethnic group, whites, declined from 95.3% in 1940 to 32.5% by 1990, due to a combination of factors, including suburbanization. Oakland became a destination for African Americans in the Great Migration during and after World War II as they gained high-paying jobs in the defense industry. Blacks have formed a plurality in Oakland for many years, peaking in 1980 at about 47% of the population.

Oakland's Black population decreased by nearly 25 percent between 2000 and 2010. The city's demographics have changed due to a combination of rising housing prices associated with gentrification and with blacks relocating to better (and in many cases more affordable) housing in Bay Area suburbs or moving to the Southern United States in a reverse migration, where conditions (including race relations) are considered to have improved in comparison to previous generations. These trends and cultural shifts have led to a decline among some of Oakland's long standing black institutions, such as churches, businesses and nightclubs, which had developed during the growing years of the 1950s through 1970.

In the 2010 census African Americans maintained their status as Oakland's single largest ethnic group, with 27% of the population, followed by non-Hispanic whites at 25.9%, and Hispanics of any race at 25.4%. Ethnic Asians constitute 17%, followed by smaller minority groups.

Many immigrants have settled in the city. Immigrants and others have marched by the thousands down Oakland's International Boulevard in support of legal reforms benefiting undocumented immigrants.

An analysis by the Urban Institute of U.S. Census 2000 numbers showed Oakland had the third-highest concentration of gays and lesbians among the 50 largest U.S. cities, behind San Francisco and Seattle. Census data showed that among incorporated places that have at least 500 female couples, Oakland had the nation's largest proportion. In the 2000 census, 2,650 lesbian couples identified as such in Oakland; one in every 41 Oakland couples identified as a same-sex female partnership.

Gentrification

According to the lobbying non-profit National Community Reinvestment Coalition, from 2013-2017 the San Francisco-Oakland Metro shows indications of having the greatest intensity of gentrification nationally, with over 31% of eligible neighborhoods gentrifying. Gentrifying neighborhoods showed significant increases in median home value, median household income, percentage of college educated residents, but also in economic inequality.

In West Oakland, median household income rose from $80,700 to $86,300 between 2010 and 2017, while the percent of population with four-year degrees rose from one-third to nearly one-half, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

Local technology companies have created jobs in Oakland, and some new apartments have appeared, rents increased, and some working-class residents have moved to suburbs further inland. The city of Oakland has failed to approve new housing permits to keep up with demand for new housing, which caused housing prices to rise.

According to 2015 data compiled by the Bay Area Equity Atlas, 18% of low-income households of color were in neighborhoods that were gentrifying compared to 33.7% of low-income white households.

Crime

Main article: Crime in Oakland, California

A 2014 study by the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law & Social Policy at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law examined crime in the city from 1987 to 2012 and concluded that "The story of crime in Oakland over the last 25 years is a nuanced one, as there are both positive and negative aspects of the crime trends." Crime dramatically decreased since the early 1990s but the city has continued to have problems with serious crime. Crime trends generally tracked comparison cities of Fresno, Richmond, Sacramento, and Stockton.

Prior to 1960, there had been successful government-funded social programs for teens.

During the first decade of the 21st century, Oakland has often been listed as one of the most dangerous large cities in the United States.

Among Oakland's 35 police patrol beats, serious crime remains a problem in specific East and West Oakland neighborhoods.

In 2012, Oakland implemented Operation Ceasefire, a gang violence reduction plan used in other cities, based in part on the research and strategies of author David M. Kennedy.

From 2024 to 2025, the crime rate has gone down by 29% , and youth employment programs has increased by 13.3%.

Economy

Oakland is a big place for shipping and trade. It has one of the largest ports on the West Coast of the United States. This port helps bring in many goods for Northern California. Many jobs in the area depend on this port.

The city is also home to big companies like Kaiser Permanente, Clorox, and Dreyer’s ice cream. Tech companies and new businesses have also started in Oakland. Over the years, Oakland has grown, with more people moving in and new homes being built. The city is a popular place to visit, known for its restaurants, music, and fun activities.

Arts and culture

Oakland has a lively art scene and many artists. In 2013, it was named one of America’s top twelve art places. Areas like Downtown, Chinatown, Old Oakland, and Jack London Square mix art, artists, and shops with restaurants and walkable streets.

The city has many galleries, especially in the Uptown area. Oakland is also famous for its food, with restaurants offering foods from around the world. Oakland has a rich music history, especially in blues and jazz, and is home to many musicians in genres like rhythm and blues, gospel, funk, punk, heavy metal, rap, and hip hop.

Attractions

• African American Museum and Library at Oakland
• AXIS Dance Company
• Chabot Space and Science Center
• Children's Fairyland
• Chinatown
• Dunsmuir House
• Fox Oakland Theatre, concert venue
• Jack London Square
• Joaquin Miller Park
• Lake Merritt, Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, oldest wildlife/bird sanctuary in North America
• Lake Temescal
• Mountain View Cemetery, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted
• Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, former home of baseball's Oakland Athletics, and the Oakland Raiders of the NFL
• Oakland Aviation Museum
• Oakland California Temple
• Oakland Museum of California
• Oakland Public Library
• Oakland Symphony
• Oakland Zoo
• Oakland Arena, directly adjacent to the Oakland Coliseum, former home to the Golden State Warriors of the NBA
• Paramount Theatre
• Pardee Home
• Peralta Hacienda Historical Park
• Redwood Regional Park
• Preservation Park
• USS Potomac, Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential yacht

Nightlife

Downtown Oakland has many bars and nightclubs, including dive bars, dance clubs, and jazz bars. The Paramount Theater and Fox Oakland Theatre host many concerts and shows. The Oakland Art Murmur event happens on the first Friday evening of every month in the Uptown neighborhood. People come to see art, enjoy live performances, and visit food trucks and galleries.

Sports

Further information: Sports in the San Francisco Bay Area

Oakland has had many famous sports teams. The Oakland Athletics baseball team won the World Series several times. They used to play at the Oakland Coliseum, but they are moving to Las Vegas.

The Oakland Raiders football team won big games called the Super Bowl. They moved to Las Vegas in 2020 and are now the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Golden State Warriors basketball team won championships and used to play in Oakland before moving to San Francisco in 2019.

Today, Oakland has new teams like the Oakland Roots SC, a soccer team that started in 2018, and the Oakland Soul SC, a women's soccer team that began in 2023. Both teams play at the Oakland Coliseum.

Oakland also had other teams in the past, like the California Golden Seals hockey team and the Oakland Spiders ultimate team.

Parks and recreation

See also: List of parks in Oakland, California

Parks

Oakland has many parks and places to play, covering 5,937 acres. In 2013, a group that helps protect land said Oakland had one of the best park systems among big U.S. cities. It is a great place for people who love nature.

Some of the city's most famous parks include:

• Allendale Park
• Bushrod Park
• Joaquin Miller Park
• Joseph Knowland State Arboretum and Park, home of the Oakland Zoo
• Lake Merritt
• Morcom Rose Garden best from July through October
• Mosswood Park
• Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, headquarters of the Peralta rancho, Rancho San Antonio
• William Joseph McInnes Botanic Garden and Campus Arboretum on the Mills College campus

Additionally, the following nine East Bay Regional Parks are entirely or partially in the city of Oakland:

• Anthony Chabot Regional Park
• Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve
• Dr. Aurelia Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park
• Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve
• Judge John Sutter Regional Shoreline
• Leona Canyon Regional Open Space Preserve
• Roberts Regional Recreation Area
• Robert Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve
• Temescal Regional Recreation Area

McLaughlin Eastshore State Park is partially in the city of Oakland and although it is a California State Park, it is managed by the East Bay Regional Park District.

Government

See also: List of mayors of Oakland, California

Oakland has a mayor-council style of government. The mayor is chosen by all voters for a four-year term. The Oakland City Council has eight members. One is chosen by all voters, and seven represent different areas of the city. They also serve four-year terms. The mayor picks a city administrator, who needs approval from the council, to manage city operations. Other important city roles include the city attorney, city auditor, and city clerk.

Oakland City Hall closed after an earthquake in 1989 but reopened in 1995 after safety improvements. Jean Quan became mayor in 2010, and Sheng Thao, the first Hmong American mayor of a major U.S. city, served from 2023 until she was recalled in 2024. Barbara Lee has been the mayor since 2025.

Oakland is part of Alameda County, which provides services like elections, public health, and law enforcement. The county is governed by a five-member Board of Supervisors and several elected officials.

Politics

Oakland used to support the Republican Party but shifted to the Democratic Party in the 1960s. Today, it is one of the most liberal cities in the country, with most voters registered as Democrats.

Taxes

Oakland has high sales and property taxes, some of the highest rates in California.

Education

See also: List of Oakland, California elementary schools; List of Oakland, California middle schools; and List of Oakland, California high schools

Oakland has many schools run by the Oakland Unified School District, which teaches most students in the city. The district has had money problems but received help from the state. Today, it includes many regular schools and special schools called charter schools.

Oakland is also home to several colleges and universities, including Laney College, Merritt College, and the California College of the Arts. The city is where the main office of the University of California system is located.

Media

Main article: List of television stations in the San Francisco Bay Area

Oakland gets its television from big stations based in San Francisco and San Jose. One station, KTVU, is based in Oakland at Jack London Square. Oakland also has several radio stations, including KKSF, KMKY, and KNEW.

Oakland once had a newspaper called the Oakland Tribune. Its building, the Tribune Tower, has a big clock that plays tunes at different times of the day. The newspaper moved and later stopped publishing.

The East Bay Express is a free weekly paper found around the East Bay. There is also a website called Oaklandwiki that shares local information.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Air and rail

Oakland residents can use three big airports in the San Francisco Bay Area: Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport, San Francisco International Airport, and San Jose International Airport. The Oakland airport is just south of downtown and offers flights to many places. Buses and a special train called the Oakland Airport Connector make it easy to get to and from the airport.

You can also take trains run by Amtrak from stations near Jack London Square and the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. One famous train, the California Zephyr, starts its journey nearby at Emeryville station.

Mass transit and bicycling

Many people in Oakland choose to walk, bike, or use public buses instead of cars. The AC Transit bus system helps people get around the city and the East Bay. BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, has eight stations in Oakland and helps people travel quickly.

Biking is popular in Oakland, too. The city has built many bike paths and places to park bikes. There are even more than 160 miles of bike roads and almost 10,000 places to lock up your bike.

Motorized scooters

In 2019, Oakland allowed companies like Bird, Lime, and Lyft to bring their rental scooters to the city. These scooters must be used safely, and the city makes sure they are placed where people can find them.

Bridges, freeways, and tunnels

Oakland has many highways that connect it to other places. Some important roads include Interstate 580, Interstate 880, and Interstate 80. There are also special tunnels under the water that connect Oakland to Alameda.

Oakland Slow Streets Program

In 2020, because of fewer cars on the road during the COVID-19 pandemic, Oakland closed some streets to cars. This helped people walk, bike, or jog safely. The city put up signs and barriers to make these streets car-free. Later, the city tried to make these areas even safer for people walking and visiting important places like grocery stores.

Freight rail

Big ships bring cargo to the Port of Oakland, and trains help move these goods. The Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway take care of this work.

Shipping

The Port of Oakland is one of the biggest ports on the West Coast. It was one of the first ports to use special boxes called containers to move goods, which made shipping faster and easier.

Utilities

The East Bay Municipal Utility District gives Oakland clean water and takes care of sewage. Pacific Gas and Electric Company provides electricity and gas. Waste Management takes care of garbage pickup. Many companies offer phone and TV services.

Healthcare

Oakland is home to Kaiser Permanente, a big health care company that started here during World War II. Other hospitals and health centers in Oakland include Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Alameda Health System, and Children's Hospital Oakland, which helps kids stay healthy. There are also many community health centers where people can get care close to home.

Notable people

Main listing: List of people from Oakland, California

Oakland, California, has been home to many famous people. They have made important contributions in entertainment, sports, and the arts. You can see a full list of these people by visiting the link above.

International relations

Sister cities

Oakland has 13 sister cities.

Friendship cities

Oakland has 18 friendship cities:

• Agadir, Morocco
• Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
• Changping District, Beijing, China
• Chengdu, Sichuan, China
• Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
• Haikou, Hainan, China
• Jing'an District, Shanghai, China
• Jinzhou, Liaoning, China
• Jurong, Jiangsu, China
• Maoming, Guangdong, China
• Mianyang, Sichuan, China
• Nanning, Guangxi, China
• Pudong, Shanghai, China
• Qingdao, Shandong, China
• Tanggu District, Tianjin, China
• Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
• Weifang, Shandong, China