By Penny | February 4, 2026
The $100M Question: Can You Build Without Pushing People Out?
In 2025, Oakland launched "Rise East," a $100 million affordable housing and economic development initiative aimed at East Oakland's most underinvested neighborhoods. The goal wasn't just to build housing. It was to prove something bigger: that you can bring capital, construction, and opportunity into historically Black and Brown neighborhoods without triggering the displacement cycle that's defined Bay Area development for decades.
Liberation Park, a mixed-use project anchored by 119 affordable apartments, a Black-owned market hall, and a cultural gathering space, is the clearest test case of that promise. Backed by a $28 million award from the City of Oakland and led by the Black Cultural Zone (BCZ), Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST), and Eden Housing, the project combines deep affordability, community land control, and economic opportunity for existing residents. According to BCZ CEO Carolyn Johnson, Liberation Park reflects "over 10 years of organizing and visioning by East Oakland residents" and is designed explicitly to address "the disparate impact of decades of disinvestment" and "more recent displacement of Black" Oaklanders (Orenstein, The Oaklandside, 2025).
This isn't theoretical. Liberation Park opens in 2027. And if it works, it becomes a replicable model for the rest of the city, and the region.
1. Defining "Investment Without Displacement"
Traditional development follows a predictable pattern: capital flows in, property values rise, rents increase, and long-term residents are priced out. Researchers call it "gentrification." Communities call it erasure.
"Investment Without Displacement" flips that script. It means structuring development so that the people already living in a neighborhood, particularly those who've been systematically excluded from wealth-building, are the primary beneficiaries of new investment, not the casualties of it.
According to Jeremy Mack, a housing researcher at the University of San Francisco, this requires three non-negotiable elements: permanent affordability mechanisms, community control of land, and wealth-building opportunities for existing residents (Mack, USF Housing Equity Research, 2024). Liberation Park was designed to hit all three.
The project sits on a 0.73-acre parcel in East Oakland's "40×40" area, home to more than 30,000 Black residents. Through a 99-year ground lease, the land remains under community control, preventing speculative resale and locking in affordability for generations (Tran, Bay City News, 2025). The 119 residential units are income-restricted, with rents set well below market rate. And the ground-floor Market Hall prioritizes Black-owned food vendors and small businesses, creating economic opportunity that stays local.
This isn't charity. It's structural design.
2. The Power of Public-Private Partnerships: The $28M City Award
Liberation Park received $28 million from Oakland's Housing and Community Development Department as part of the broader Rise East initiative. That funding didn't happen by accident. It was the result of sustained advocacy, community organizing, and a new political will to direct public dollars toward equity-driven development.
City officials framed the award as reparative. As one Oakland councilmember stated during the project's approval, "For generations, Black Oaklanders have been deprived of access to wealth, economic opportunities, affordable housing, and more" (Taylor Jr., KQED, 2025). The $28 million investment was positioned as a course correction, a recognition that public infrastructure has historically excluded Black communities and that rebuilding requires intentional capital allocation.
But public funding alone doesn't guarantee community benefit. The structure matters. Liberation Park's funding flows through community-controlled entities, BCZ and CAST, not private developers seeking market-rate returns. Eden Housing, a mission-driven affordable housing developer, manages the residential component. This governance structure ensures that decision-making power stays with the community, not outside investors.
According to the City of Oakland HCD, projects like Liberation Park are designed to "stabilize neighborhoods by increasing affordable housing supply and supporting local economic development without triggering displacement pressures" (City of Oakland HCD, 2025).
3. More Than Just Housing: The Market Hall Factor
Housing alone doesn't stop displacement. If residents can afford rent but still have to leave the neighborhood to access fresh food, economic opportunity, or culturally relevant services, you haven't solved the problem. You've just delayed it.
Liberation Park's Market Hall addresses this head-on. The space includes AKOMA Market, a grocery and community gathering hub, alongside vendor stalls for Black-owned food businesses. The design draws inspiration from "African and African-American traditions of open markets, lively environments where commerce and culture are deeply intertwined" (Orenstein, The Oaklandside, 2025).
This isn't decorative. It's economic infrastructure. The Market Hall generates foot traffic, supports local entrepreneurship, and keeps dollars circulating within the community. It also creates a cultural anchor, a place where residents see themselves reflected, not erased.
Research shows that mixed-use developments with community-serving retail significantly reduce displacement risk by improving neighborhood livability without triggering speculative investment (Mack, USF, 2024). Liberation Park operationalizes that research.
4. Economic Mobility via Local Entrepreneurship
One of the sharpest critiques of traditional affordable housing is that it solves the rent problem but does nothing to address the wealth gap. Residents remain renters, dependent on subsidies, with no pathway to ownership or asset accumulation.
Liberation Park counters this through entrepreneurship support built into the physical design. Black-owned businesses occupy ground-floor commercial space at below-market rates, with technical assistance provided by BCZ and CAST. Vendors aren't just tenants, they're equity stakeholders in the neighborhood's future.
According to BCZ CEO Carolyn Johnson, the project is designed to "generate wealth within the existing community rather than extracting it" (Johnson, BCZ, 2025). That means prioritizing existing East Oakland entrepreneurs, providing flexible lease terms, and connecting business owners to capital and mentorship networks.
This model directly challenges the myth that affordable housing drags down property values or fails to generate economic activity. Liberation Park proves the opposite: when affordability is paired with opportunity, neighborhoods thrive.
5. The "Reparative" Model of Development
Liberation Park isn't marketed as a reparations project, but the framework is explicitly reparative. The Black Cultural Zone was conceived in 2014 to address "decades of disinvestment in East Oakland" and the systemic exclusion of Black residents from housing, wealth, and opportunity (Orenstein, The Oaklandside, 2025).
The project reclaims land that had been abandoned and transforms it through community action. The 2-story courtyard is designed to "celebrate communal identity, pride, and activism", a physical space that honors the organizing work that made the project possible (Tran, Bay City News, 2025).
This matters because displacement isn't just an economic issue. It's a cultural one. When communities are pushed out, history is erased. Liberation Park anchors that history in place.
The reparative lens also shapes who benefits. Preference goes to East Oakland residents, particularly Black families. This isn't exclusionary, it's corrective. After generations of redlining, predatory lending, and exclusionary zoning, targeting resources toward the most harmed communities isn't favoritism. It's equity.
Case Example: How Rise East Funds Projects Like Liberation Park
Oakland's Rise East initiative allocates $100 million across multiple East Oakland projects, with Liberation Park serving as the flagship. The funding model works like this:
- City Capital Allocation: Oakland's HCD identified priority census tracts based on income levels, displacement risk, and historical disinvestment.
- Community-Led Proposals: Organizations like BCZ and CAST submitted proposals demonstrating community support, financial viability, and anti-displacement safeguards.
- Tiered Funding: Projects receive upfront capital for land acquisition and predevelopment, with additional funds released as construction milestones are met.
- Long-Term Monitoring: The City requires annual reporting on tenant demographics, business ownership, and neighborhood stability metrics.
Liberation Park's $28 million award covered land acquisition, construction costs, and a reserve fund for tenant services. By structuring funding through community-controlled entities and requiring 99-year affordability covenants, the City ensured that public dollars generate long-term community benefit, not short-term developer profit.
This is replicable. Other cities can adopt the same framework: identify high-risk neighborhoods, fund community-led developers, and tie public dollars to permanent affordability and local ownership.
Traditional Development vs. Community-Led Development
| Factor | Traditional Development | Community-Led Development (Liberation Park) |
|---|---|---|
| Land Control | Private ownership; market-rate resale | 99-year ground lease; community-controlled |
| Affordability | Market-rate or temporary subsidies | Permanent income restrictions |
| Who Benefits | Outside investors and new residents | Existing residents and local entrepreneurs |
| Economic Impact | Wealth extraction via rising rents | Wealth generation via local business support |
| Cultural Preservation | Often erased or commodified | Centered and celebrated through design |
Key Takeaways
- Investment Without Displacement requires permanent affordability, community land control, and local wealth-building.
- Public funding works when it flows through community-controlled entities, not private developers.
- Mixed-use projects that combine housing, retail, and cultural space reduce displacement risk more effectively than housing alone.
- Entrepreneurship support built into affordable housing creates pathways to wealth, not just rent relief.
- Reparative development prioritizes communities that have been systematically excluded from opportunity.
- The Rise East model, tiered funding, long-term monitoring, and community accountability, is replicable citywide.
- Liberation Park proves that you can bring $28 million into a neighborhood without pushing people out.
- This isn't charity. It's structural equity.
What Smart Critics Argue, and Why They're Missing the Point
Critique #1: "Projects like Liberation Park take too long and are too complex. Traditional developers move faster."
Response: Speed isn't the goal, stability is. Traditional development moves fast because it prioritizes profit over people. Community-led projects take longer because they require deep engagement, anti-displacement safeguards, and governance structures that keep power local. Liberation Park took over a decade from concept to groundbreaking, but the result is 119 units of permanently affordable housing and a community-controlled economic hub. That's worth the wait.
Critique #2: "This model relies too heavily on public subsidies. It's not scalable."
Response: Subsidies aren't the problem, who controls them is. Oakland already spends billions on housing and development. The question is whether that money flows to market-rate developers who extract wealth or community-led projects that build it. Liberation Park proves the latter works. And with cities like Oakland committing $100 million to Rise East, scalability is already happening.
Take Action: Support the Next Liberation Park
Liberation Park didn't happen because of luck. It happened because community organizers spent 10 years building power, because funders stepped up, and because the city finally said yes.
There are more projects like this waiting to happen. MFFCE funds grassroots groups working on affordable housing, economic development, and community land trusts across Oakland. Your support directly fuels the next Liberation Park.
Primary Action: Donate to MFFCE's local grants program to fund community-led projects that build without displacing.
Secondary Action: Join the Black Cultural Zone's mailing list to stay updated on Liberation Park's 2027 opening and get involved in East Oakland's future.
McFadden Finch Foundation for Community Enrichment
Lake Merritt Plaza, 1999 Harrison Street, Suite 1872-73
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 941-1421
mcfaddenfinchfoundation.org
Source List
-
Natalie Orenstein, The Oaklandside (2025) – Primary reporting on Liberation Park's design, community engagement process, and Market Hall concept. Provides direct quotes from BCZ leadership and project details.
-
Otis R. Taylor Jr., KQED (2025) – Coverage of Oakland City Council's approval of Liberation Park funding, including councilmember statements on reparative development and the $28M award.
-
Anna Tran, Bay City News/Local News Matters (2025) – Detailed reporting on project specifications (119 units, 0.73 acres, 99-year ground lease) and architectural design elements, including the 2-story courtyard.
-
Carolyn Johnson, CEO, Black Cultural Zone (2025) – Direct statements on BCZ's mission, the 10-year organizing timeline, and the project's anti-displacement framework.
-
City of Oakland Housing and Community Development (2025) – Official policy documentation on Rise East funding structure, project eligibility criteria, and long-term monitoring requirements.
-
Jeremy Mack, University of San Francisco Housing Equity Research (2024) – Academic research on Investment Without Displacement models, defining the three core elements (affordability, land control, wealth-building) and supporting data on mixed-use development outcomes.
-
Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST) and Eden Housing (2025) – Partnership documentation outlining governance structure, community control mechanisms, and affordable housing management approach.
Fact-Check List: Top 10 Claims
-
Claim: Liberation Park includes 119 affordable housing units.
Source: Anna Tran, Bay City News (2025); City of Oakland HCD documentation. -
Claim: The project sits on a 0.73-acre parcel with a 99-year ground lease.
Source: Anna Tran, Bay City News (2025). -
Claim: Liberation Park received $28 million from Oakland's Housing and Community Development Department.
Source: Otis R. Taylor Jr., KQED (2025); City of Oakland HCD (2025). -
Claim: The Black Cultural Zone was conceived in 2014 to address disinvestment and displacement.
Source: Natalie Orenstein, The Oaklandside (2025); Carolyn Johnson, BCZ (2025). -
Claim: The BCZ partnership with CAST and Eden Housing began in November 2020.
Source: Natalie Orenstein, The Oaklandside (2025). -
Claim: The 40×40 area in East Oakland is home to more than 30,000 Black residents.
Source: Carolyn Johnson, BCZ (2025); Oakland demographic data cited in The Oaklandside reporting. -
Claim: The Market Hall design draws inspiration from African and African-American open market traditions.
Source: Natalie Orenstein, The Oaklandside (2025). -
Claim: Rise East is a $100 million affordable housing and economic development initiative.
Source: City of Oakland HCD (2025). -
Claim: Liberation Park is scheduled to open in 2027.
Source: Otis R. Taylor Jr., KQED (2025); BCZ project timeline. -
Claim: Investment Without Displacement requires permanent affordability, community land control, and wealth-building opportunities.
Source: Jeremy Mack, USF Housing Equity Research (2024).