A renewed People's Park for all.

This website contains a lot of detailed information about our plans for People's Park. Here's a consise summary.

2-Page Project Summary

Click to download and share a 2-page summary about this project.

Our plan for People's Park:

  1. More than 60% of the site remains as open public park space. Many trees will be preserved, many more new trees and native plantings will be added to the newly revitalized park.
  2. Below-market apartments for more than 1,100 UC Berkeley undergraduates.
  3. In a separate building, 125 apartments of permanent supportive housing.
  4. Create permanent commemorations of the park's history, of which, none exist today.

UC Berkeley students support the People's Park project by a 2:1 Margin:

  • Undergraduate and graduate students were surveyed by a leading independent survey firm in two waves of scientific, random sample surveys at 99% confidence level and 3% margin of error.
  • The most recent survey, conducted in May 2022, shows that current UC Berkeley students support the People's Park project by more than a two-to-one margin.
  • Our plan for People's Park is supported by the Berkeley community and their elected officials. Berkeley's mayor and vice-mayor, members of the city council, the media, our neighbors, local churches, and professionals who have dedicated their lives to helping unhoused people, all support our plans for People's Park. We are grateful for their support.

There is extensive criminal activity at People's Park, much of it violent:

  • In the past 3 years, there have been 18 rapes, 19 robberies, 110 aggravated assaults, and 48 drug and 6 weapons arrests.
  • In 2021, a Berkeley undergraduate was stabbed after walking past People’s Park at night; the suspect has been charged with attempted murder.
  • Unhoused persons are too frequently the victims of these crimes. Students and the public tend to avoid the park in part due to the frequency of violent crimes reported there. Our plan will transform the park into a safe and accessible place for all.

Unhoused persons sleeping in the park voluntarily relocated to temporary housing:

  • In November 2023, there were 25 unhoused people sleeping in the park. The city-campus partnership has dedicated $1 million in order to lease the Quality Inn motel and contract with Dorothy Day Houseto provide needed social and other supportive services.
  • 21 of the 25 unhoused people on the site voluntarily accepted the offer of transitional housing at the Quality Inn and are now on the path to permanent housing.
  • No one was forced to relocate to temporary housing. Other shelter options were, and are still being offered to those few who chose not to relocate.
  • No personal belongings were discarded without permission by the owner.

Daytime drop-in center one block from People's Park is now in its 2nd year of operations:

  • Unhoused community members are free to drop-in to rest, use a bathroom, charge electronic devices, get water or prepare a meal, and meet with staff and volunteers of public and non-profit agencies that provide services to the unhoused, such as counseling and housing navigation.
  • Located on the grounds of the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, the drop-in center was designed by a Berkeley faculty member and is being jointly funded by the City and campus, with services provided by an experienced local non-profit organization, The Village of Love.
  • Unlike the park, the drop-in center is purpose built and designed to be fully ADA compliant.

Additional background information: