Land Matters

For Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, the coronavirus crisis began in earnest when California Governor Gavin Newsom asked to allow sick passengers to disembark from the Crown Princess cruise ship, in the West Oakland port area. And life as mayor of this Bay Area city of 435,000 has not been the same since. Schaaf oversaw a successful lockdown, placed the homeless in vacant hotel rooms, and closed sections of streets to vehicular traffic to encourage biking and walking. Now she is focused on making Oakland more sustainable and equitable than before the pandemic struck.