East Palo Alto Historical and Agricultural Society, National Park Service— Rivers, Trails and Conservation, Assistance Program, Urban Ecology, Inc., Spring 1997
The Weeks Neighborhood in East Palo Alto is unique in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a richly green place with many large trees and open views, in sharp contrast to the concrete and freeways of much of the nearby Bay Area. Many people come to the neighborhood and stay for a lifetime, creating a close-knit community. Historically it has been a farming place due to its rich soils, abundance of clean water and sunny climate outside the coastal fog zone. Communities like this were once common throughout the Bay Area, but today are rare. However, change is happening in and around the Weeks Neighborhood. Land is being subdivided, houses are being built, new businesses and shopping centers are opening in surrounding cities, more people of all income levels are seeking houses to rent or buy, more people are driving their cars through East Palo Alto. Through the City’s General Plan update and other community actions, East Palo Alto residents have an opportunity to respond to these outside pressures, to think about what they want East Palo Alto to look like five, ten or twenty years from now, and to define how they want growth to influence their community.
Over the next few years, a number of issues will directly affect the future of the Weeks Neighborhood. They include large-scale residential development near the Baylands, the Gateway 101 shopping center, replacement housing built for the Gateway 101 center, the City’s General Plan update, Ravenswood Industrial Area, proposals for the University/Bay shopping center, and creating a Weeks Neighborhood Land Trust.
Weeks Neighborhood residents are realizing that they want to have a voice in the future of their neighborhood. They are becoming aware that they may not want it all to be developed, one lot at a time, for maximum profit. They are appreciating the importance of looking at the impacts on the neighborhood as a whole, and the city as a whole. They are looking at their neighborhood and thinking about what aspects of the neighborhood they like the way they are, and what aspects should change.
Over the next few years, a number of issues will directly affect the future of the Weeks Neighborhood. They include large-scale residential development near the Baylands, the Gateway 101 shopping center, replacement housing built for the Gateway 101 center, the City’s General Plan update, Ravenswood Industrial Area, proposals for the University/Bay shopping center, and creating a Weeks Neighborhood Land Trust.
Weeks Neighborhood residents are realizing that they want to have a voice in the future of their neighborhood. They are becoming aware that they may not want it all to be developed, one lot at a time, for maximum profit. They are appreciating the importance of looking at the impacts on the neighborhood as a whole, and the city as a whole. They are looking at their neighborhood and thinking about what aspects of the neighborhood they like the way they are, and what aspects should change.
 |
| An ally in downtown Palo Alto, photo by Trevor D. |
read more posts about urban planning in California:
No comments:
Post a Comment