One Berkeley Resident's Fight to Desegregate the City

Dorothy Walker has spent decades working to eliminate housing discrimination. In February, the city council finally agreed.

2 minute read

April 1, 2021, 9:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Campanile

Chao Kusollerschariya / Shutterstock

Nathanael Johnson profiles Dorothy Walker, a Berkeley resident who, decades ago, undertook a fight against racist real estate covenants. As a white woman married to a Japanese-American, Walker witnessed the effects of internment and race-based policies in mid-century America, policies which reverberate to this day.

Despite federal efforts to eliminate housing segregation in the early 20th century, writes Johnson, cities found new ways to replace explicitly racist covenants with "ordinances that entrenched segregation by income and wealth instead, reserving certain parts of town for people who could afford their own house and a roomy yard." Walker has proposed eliminating single-family zoning for decades, but her proposals have always fallen on deaf ears. "I was basically a voice in the wilderness crying out for density," she says. "It was just so radical. It fell like a stone."

As the years wore on, Berkeley residents "moved to clamp down" on any efforts to revise zoning codes or increase density. "In 1973, Berkeley’s residents put what they called the “Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance” on the ballot to make it harder to demolish old buildings and build new ones."

At 90, "Walker had not expected to live long enough to see Berkeley end single-family zoning." When the city council voted to eliminate single-family zoning in February of this year, the move broke open a decades-old fight and vindicated advocates like Walker. However, "the February vote merely put the City Council on the record as supporting the reforms. To turn [Councilmember and Vice Mayor Lori] Droste’s resolution into reality, and end single-family zoning a century after Berkeley created it, council members must grapple with the details."

"Housing experts agree that loosening zoning won’t bring down Berkeley’s stratospheric housing prices." According to Karen Chapple, city planning professor at UC Berkeley, "There’s no hope; it will never be affordable again.' But making it possible for more people to live in the city, she said, would put less pressure on residents to flee to surrounding cities and tamp down the growth of sprawling exurbs."

Wednesday, March 24, 2021 in Grist

Red on white 'Room for Rent, Inquire Inside' sign

In Most U.S. Cities, Archaic Laws Limit Roommate Living

Critics argue laws preventing unrelated adults from living in the same home fail to understand the modern American household.

May 24, 2023 - The Atlantic

Vancouver Chuck Wolfe

Ten Signs of a Resurgent Downtown

In GeekWire, Chuck Wolfe continues his exploration of a holistic and practical approach to post-pandemic urban center recovery, anchored in local context and community-driven initiatives that promote livability, safety, and sustainability.

May 24, 2023 - GeekWire

Colorful high-saturation view of downtown Houston, Texas with pink and blue dusk sky

Transforming Downtowns Into Functional Neighborhoods

Rather than ‘monofunctional’ business districts or urban playgrounds, American downtown districts could become multipurpose neighborhoods.

May 25, 2023 - Wired

Close-up of lead water pipe with mineral crusts

An Equity Approach to Lead Pipe Replacement

A former Chicago health commissioner calls on governments to prioritize the most marginalized and historically disinvested communities when distributing funding to replace lead pipes, which have taken the highest toll on the health of disadvantaged c

1 hour ago - Governing

View of wetlands in South Carolina at sunrise or sunset

Supreme Court Limits Clean Water Act’s Power

A recent ruling ‘dramatically’ restricts the law’s reach when it comes to protecting wetlands.

2 hours ago - Politico

Benches along lit paved bike trail adjacent to freeway overpass in Albany, New York

Albany Freeway Ramp Reimagined as Park, Trail

An underused freeway exit ramp is now an inviting linear park that connects the city to the Hudson River.

3 hours ago - Public Square

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.