Oakland Cab Driver Says City Is “Whiter”

Oakland Cab Driver Says City Is “Whiter” This Oakland Friendly Cab driver made some interesting observations about how the city has changed.

The most interesting one is where he says Oakland has “become whiter. You see white people everywhere, especially around the Lake.”

He is right about the change. Oakland has really adopted a 1960s style of urban development where market rate housing, and not manufacturing jobs, has been the focus.

The result: black removal.

The difference is that during the period where blacks moved to Oakland after the war, the reason was for shipbuilding jobs.

Now a class that tends to move to Oakland is more likely to have a job in areas less likely to employ blacks.

The big question is what should Oakland look like? Oakland says it’s a diverse city but does it want to be? http://ift.tt/1lGlDyp

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