The Downtown Berkeley Association's 2001 Retail Development Strategy

In 2001, the Downtown Berkeley Association (DBA) published their Retail Development Strategy (RDS). Touting the revitalization of the area due to the renewed focus on cultural events and The Arts District, the DBA nevertheless admits the continuing challenges faced in the “revitalization of the retail sector.”

The RDS provides some interesting demographic figures for the Berkeley community:
• The average Berkeley household has $33,000 in disposable income to spend on retail purchases;
• There are roughly 23,500 office workers, and thousands more students, within a 1-mile radius of downtown;
• The vacancy rate for retail businesses was reduced from 16% to 4% between 1992 and 2000;
• Although strong in the Arts and restaurant sectors, downtown Berkeley’s commercial development is underrepresented in apparel.

The RDS offers five strategies to be employed to attract new businesses, including increasing access to parking, improving “safety and sidewalks,” and an expansion of the available housing in the area.

Regarding transportation and parking, the RDS advocates improved shuttle services from off-site parking locations into the area, improved infrastructure to promote walking and bicycling, and a renovation and expansion of the existing parking infrastructure including the construction of a new parking structure. Although increased shuttle service and the encouragement of alternative transportation are laudable goals, the RDS lists these and similar measures at the top of the priority list, giving unrealistic importance to these measures. The simple fact is that even in the Bay Area, consumers’ preferred transportation means remains personal automobiles, especially when it comes to retail excursions, which are likely to burden the consumer beyond the point that walking and cycling remain viable options.

The RDS recognizes the lack of available housing stock, and announces the DBA’s intent to advocate for legislation that would encourage and facilitate an expansion in the housing stock, including expedited permitting and bonuses for high-density housing projects. Again, these are laudable goals but, to hear Patrick Kennedy tell it, appear to remain unimplemented at this time.

In terms of “safety and sidewalks,” the RDS lists nine steps, only two of which appear related to the homeless problem in the area. Both of these measures appear near the bottom of the list, appearing to indicate them to be low-priority measures. Given the class’s expressed concern about the homeless issue’s impact on the area, this appears to demonstrate an under-appreciation for the issue within the DBA.


Downtown Berkeley Association, Retail Development Strategy (2001), http://www.downtownberkeley.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=30.