Oakland, California

Oakland, founded in 1852, is a major city on the east side (also called East Bay) of San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. To its north lies Berkeley, home to the famous university campus (University of California, Berkeley). To its west stands San Francisco, across the Bay Bridge. To its south lies the island city of Alameda, and San Leandro lies to the southeast. Along the hills which run from north to east, Oakland borders five of the East Bay Regional Parks. In the center of Oakland, and completely surrounded by it (prompting the common analogy to a doughnut hole), is the wealthy independent city of Piedmont. Oakland is home of the Port of Oakland, one of three major shipping ports on the American West coast.

Neighborhoods

The city of Oakland stretches from the San Francisco Bay up into the East Bay Hills. The character of these neighborhoods continues to change as waves of immigrants from within the United States and other countries relocate here. Also, the changing economy lures more technically skilled workers to Oakland.

Related Topics:
San Francisco Bay - East Bay - United States

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Oakland is commonly divided into broad regions in two different ways:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• "The Hills" and "The Flats" (or "The Flatlands"); with the Flatlands being the historically working-class neighborhoods located in the relatively flat areas closer to San Francisco Bay, and the Hills being the mainly upper-class hillside neighborhoods along the east side of the city. This hills/flats division is found throughout much of the western part of the East Bay, especially in Berkeley and El Cerrito.
• The other common method is to divide the city into "Downtown Oakland," "East Oakland," "North Oakland," and "West Oakland". East Oakland is the largest of these areas, stretching from Lake Merritt southeast to San Leandro. North Oakland encompasses the neighborhoods spread between Downtown and Berkeley. West Oakland is the area between Downtown and the bay, partially surrounded by the Port of Oakland. Both North and East Oakland include neighborhoods in both the Flatlands and hills, while West Oakland and Downtown are entirely within the Flatlands.

There are many neighborhoods which don't fit neatly into one or both of these schemes. The Hills/Flats division ignores the middle-class neighborhoods which run along the base of the hills, as well as the reality that parts of "The Flatlands" can be as hilly as much of "The Hills." The East/North/West division ignores the neighborhoods which are northeast of Lake Merritt, and the areas along Highway 13 in the hills behind Piedmont.

Related Topics:
Highway 13 - Piedmont

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Downtown Oakland

• Chinatown
• City Center
• Jack London Square/Waterfront
• Old Oakland
• Uptown

East Oakland

• Brookfield Village
• Dimond District
• Crestmont
• Eastmont
• Elmhurst
• Fruitvale
• Glenview
• Grass Valley
• Laurel
• Lincoln Heights
• Maxwell Park
• Melrose
• Millsmont
• Oak Knoll
• Oakmore
• Redwood Heights
• Ridgemont
• San Antonio District
• Eastlake
• Seminary
• Sequoyah Heights
• Sheffield Village
• Sobrante Park

North Oakland

• Claremont
• Golden Gate
• Piedmont Avenue
• Pill Hill
• Rockridge
• Temescal

West Oakland

• West Oakland

Other neighborhoods

Near Lake Merritt

• Adams Point
• Grand Lake
• Trestle Glen

In the hills

• Montclair District
• Piedmont Pines
• Hiller Highlands