City of Oakland California

The City and its partners are working to ensure that Oakland is a healthy, safe, and fulfilling environment for all residents and visitors. Local efforts aim to address inequities in access to healthy opportunities and healthcare services. All members of the Oakland community have a role to play in creating a vibrant and resilient community by making healthy choices, using preventive practices, and helping to build supportive environments.

Children’s Hospital Oakland Receives Major Donation, Affiliates with UCSF Benioff - Children’s Hospital Oakland received a $50 million gift from Lynne and Marc Benioff, who also gave another $50 million to UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. The hospitals have been renamed UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco. The gift will strengthen existing programs in basic and clinical research and patient care at the two premier institutions. Additionally, the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland trauma center was recently verified as a Level One Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), making it one of only five such trauma centers in California and one of only 44 nationally.

Oakland Among Top Cities to Receive Resilience Planning Assistance - In late 2013, Oakland was chosen among the first 32 of 100 Resilient Cities by the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge. Oakland is receiving support from the Rockefeller Foundation to create and implement a resilience plan, and in August 2014 hired a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) to oversee the resilience strategy. The CRO will lead the City’s efforts to prepare for, respond to, and recover from catastrophic events and chronic stresses. The Rockefeller Foundation is dedicated to helping cities build resilience to the environmental, social, and economic threats that are increasingly part of a 21st century world.

Oakland’s Operation Ceasefire Attaining Success - The Ceasefire strategy engages a cross‐section of community stakeholders concerned with ending violence, including criminal justice agencies, community organizations, youth, advocates, and faith leaders. The program aims to reduce recidivism and incarceration rates, improve police‐community relations, and reduce shootings and homicides through respectful, direct communication with those at highest risk of violence. The Ceasefire team works with young men who are on probation or parole, providing “wraparound” and outreach services for these individuals to exit lives of violence and gang association. As of June 2014, the City had a reduction in shootings and homicides compared to the same time the previous year.

Oakland Running Festival Sets Record - 9,862 runners participated in the fourth annual Oakland Running Festival, up 20% from the previous year, and contributed $3.5 million to the city and state economies, according to the Regional Economic Studies Institute. The event generated more than $400,000 for local charities and organizations, including Bay Area Urban Network, Lighthouse Community Charter School Team, NorCal CarciNet Community, Capture the Dream, Inc., Urban Tilth, SquashDrive, Black Girls RUN!, Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland, Oakland Food Policy Council, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Running for a Better Oakland, Bay Area Legal Aid, CALICO (the Child Abuse Listening, Interviewing and Coordination Center), and Great Oakland Public Schools Leadership Center.

City Passes Affordable Housing Ordinance - Passed in October 2013, the new ordinance designates a permanent source of funds to ensure that Oakland will have enough safe, new, affordable housing for lower-income residents and families.

Measured Performance

Police Academy Graduates New Class - Since implementing a plan in 2012 to increase the number of police officers, the Oakland Police Department (OPD) conducted multiple police academies, graduating approximately 122 new officers. OPD graduated its most recent academy in July 2014; another is taking place in September 2014. OPD’s goal is to run at least two academies per fiscal year to maintain and boost staffing levels. Increased police staffing enhances public safety, allowing more officers to engage in community policing, respond to calls for service, and prevent crime.

Weatherization and Energy Retrofit Revolving Loan Program Pays Off - In the 2012-2013 fiscal year, the Weatherization and Energy Retrofit Loan Program, operated through the City’s Housing Department, paid for retrofits for 24 single-family homes to improve efficiency and well-being for low-income residents. In the 2013-2014 fiscal year, retrofits were completed for 23 homes, with another 11 underway.

In the Works

City Exploring Climate Vulnerabilities and Adaptation Strategies - The City is working with the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) and other partners to study climate change impacts, vulnerabilities, and potential adaptation strategies for projected sea level rise and associated flooding. This work has led to BCDC’s Adapting to Rising Tides Pilot Program and BCDC’s Coliseum/Airport Sub-regional focus group, among other successes. These plans will help protect neighborhoods across the City in the case of natural disasters and extreme weather events, and help communities rebound more quickly when disasters do occur.