Fruitvale Village

Located on Oakland’s East Street, the Fruitvale BART station and surrounding Fruitvale Village is an internationally famous example of a successful transit-oriented development. Because this particular BART station is such a cornerstone in the Fruitvale community, Oakland’s Unity Council — a local non-profit that advocates for the underserved groups in Oakland — proposed a mixed-use development that would better serve the needs of Fruitvale’s residents. Throughout the 1990s, the Unity Council worked with BART, the City of Oakland, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, and the UC Berkeley Institute of Urban & Regional Development to design the development, incorporating feedback from community members to ensure the development’s success. Fruitvale Village opened in 2004, complete with housing, shopping, community organizations, medical clinics, and (of course) easy access to public transportation.