**Time of Visit: September 2021** ## Intro Berkeley is perhaps best known as the home of the University of California, Berkeley, the school I currently attend. Today, instead of showcasing the college campus which tends to be the main draw for visitors, I want to showcase the mix of residential and commercial development in and around downtown Berkeley. Downtown Berkeley, located west of the university campus, is centered around the BART station which connects the city via rail to the rest of the Bay Area. ## Commercial Areas

![Entrance to the BART station.](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/1MfmeMsKnpcIOldL2bawhSa49bs0djNsqtetYxp9Jacn5eT5xC_h4UeUl84xYOye3yewdLyi0fd9blCtMYByZkv7IDvCNOl8GdizyuRi5Drp4LlToq1HyrplcCeeS2QYwAkSrBkNQmg=w1600)

Entrance to the BART station.

The area surrounding the BART station tends to contain some unsavory characters, usually mentally ill homeless individuals, but it's not as bad as the Civic Center station in San Francisco or any of the downtown Oakland stations in the evening. Still, visitors should keep their wits about them. I don't wish to harp on the issue because there are [much](https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/05/04/bay-area-residents-are-fed-up-with-the-homelessness-crisis/) [better](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/21/us/california-homeless-backlash.html) [places](https://www.foxnews.com/us/san-francisco-homeless-tents-taxpayers-16-million) to read about it.

![Restaurants near the station.](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bqgrK3mOpZ_9LqYTGPqEEI3kZXXt2GfUMYsWkJNtsDaVui_8J8-CrhP7qhnHgaFfaZegtjio0vnyIAxckPZzdGW-YJcwqeMEC80OuAuAES9a7wyo81IWEByCmVwg__Jcy0o6TC-cWnY=w1600)

Most food options near the station cater to the college and high school crowd.

![Downtown Berkeley.](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/AnfGw7OB_tSKUIIydDlpwAkbEpFmmH8Jztw8IsIDBqE88G4oqC5lKHBQAwQx1eReq36PVH5PHcKfueLH7N0R_ekbprR54FzWh0gC3hts67cBMnh-MLVb_Yc-oWkBduoA1V1jW02oQ74=w1600)

A view from across the street.

Cycling and pedestrian infrastructure is impressive by American standards. Large streets have bike lanes highlighted in neon green, and cars are very respectful of pedestrians even at intersections with no crosswalk signals. Buses are frequent but tend to be less timely in the early morning and late at night. University students receive free fare. ## Residential Areas Walking west of downtown, the scenery abruptly transitions from mixed-use commercial and residental development to purely residential streets. These neighborhoods are old, and residences tend to come in two flavors: unique, immaculately maintained single-family houses and dirty utilitarian stucco cubes subdivided into many cramped units.

![Residential area several blocks west of the university.](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vOGDCiG3LTDZQGOeNmz4-JVV-qzBs4KVHei3qjpGLLYrkvPmYPu2GWci34M_RYHSyCI5MrZkAaWFIgBQDnLESok1n-PJp0-OuIoOKfGUclLb1TORWzqNC0r76hb2dhSFpMK6hYxGfBo=w1600)

The former in the foreground, the latter in the background.

The old housing stock in Berkeley gives the area some architectural charm. According to [this map from the Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/06/24/map-the-age-of-housing-in-every-zip-code-in-the-u-s/), the average age of the housing stock in Alameda County, where Berkeley is located, is 75+ years old, well before post-WWII automobile-centric development wrecked any semblance of neighborhood character.

![Old house](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_rAALNIJBMaefya8pkyAf-3eiH69zRGta_ZJ-9a_3HtO8qjugHgyQqjuDeNNy-ZqxD5JNqnDkSr_yAB4PwS_KnEmb4RPWpHF5VWNtsD34YxUm9wxWpqYrG29AP01pCQCroJIevAtbTI=w1600)

A wonderful house reminiscent of a Norwegian stave church.

Still, I'm sure tenants in the area would prefer new development over preserving "neighborhood character". The average home value in Berkeley, CA as of August 2021 is \$1.57 million, compared to the national average of $303,000.

![Shitty block](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CV9jw2CpQZ9qgPz09-N3Gy4qJXdpa16-yFDeudLmkKMyZ-vdzpEpxALvxYIdUFRxsq4DJJR7RW-xCc-AeRtJ5s3StqvyD__JR-mkMp6DUFjr0RnaIjphslR_yOQmS447bb5sp3T8PTc=w1600)

A studio apartment in this building starts at $1 million.

The homeowners seem happy, though.

![Happy](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/x6asYZIMHdLjvbIFM22GoliHZhLTU5j5pOUw8dU6K-vh6SCT7vjlnF5wkxrfG1kdEtWOLFQadHA4n8uP3OknRwipVR9hcHyA1QQWeNksagQeoevpC9T4ztndiUR-GRa-zPK0zid9iKY=w1600)

## Zoning Laws and Politics Berkeley is famously liberal even by Californian standards. The city elected a socialist mayor in 1911, foreshadowing [a wave of activism in the 1960s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960s_Berkeley_protests) supporting the Civil Rights Movement and denouncing the Vietnam War. Fifty years later, residents are no less outspoken.

![Activism](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ydEInC8AHFLrDyDbunQgFCGDSSmBIZoC3O2OQ2Zdrne4IGqFs5N5io-WRHHdGdv-FGZjIowS04O76JCNYouT9I0Gt7ybYo6h9BTerFrP7WtSKJg7CeiEGzQCzR96Slk2Eiql6B3kvks=w1600)

A small compilation of signs, all from the same block.

So one might be surprised to learn that one hundred years ago, Berkeley was also the [first city in America to introduce single-family zoning](https://www.kqed.org/news/11840548/the-racist-history-of-single-family-home-zoning) as an explicit measure to exclude blacks and Asians from wealthy white neighborhoods. Hundreds - if not thousands - of American towns and cities followed suit. It wasn't until this year that [the city council voted to eliminate single-family zoning](https://qz.com/1976751/berkeley-ends-a-century-of-housing-segregation/). Such is the power of the NIMBY, even in a city as ostensibly progressive as Berkeley. Even though Berkeley [and the rest of California](https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/09/16/gov-newsom-abolishes-single-family-zoning-in-california/) have taken corrective steps, the damage wrought by the policy remains visible all across the nation. ## Opinionated Food Recommendations All these places are within walking distance of the BART station. Although there are plenty of other "good" restaurants, this list contains unique restaurants worth trying if your time in Berkeley is limited. **$** - **Marugame Udon** is a Japanese chain restaurant specializing in udon. I spent half my freshman year of college eating here after getting sick of the dorm food. - **One Plus** has the best boba (also known as bubble tea) in Berkeley. Coming in second and third is the Taiwanese chain Yi Fang Fruit Tea and U-Cha. - **Cheeseboard** is a charming pizzeria, bakery, and cheese shop in one. - **Victory Point Cafe** is a relaxing place to play board games while sipping coffee. - **Yin Ji Chang Fen** is a Cantonese breakfast/dimsum restaurant. It's difficult to find regional Chinese food like this in America. **$$** - **Easterly** serves authentic Hunanese food and is the best Chinese restaurant in Berkeley. - **The Butcher's Son** sells the only vegan sandwich I've ever enjoyed as a non-vegan. - **Gregoire's** sells (non-vegan) French-style sandwiches that are absolutely delicious. - **MY Coffee Roastery** is probably the most Instagrammable cafe in Berkeley. I can't speak to the quality of the coffee, though, since I can hardly taste the difference between Vietnamese drip coffee and a $1.50 McDonald's cup of joe. **$$$** I don't think there is anything worth recommending in Downtown Berkeley in this price range. **$$$$** - **Chez Panisse** has a seasonal menu and is worth the money, or so I've heard from friends who have gone. I wouldn't know.

Under Construction 🚧