Race, Redevelopment and Gentrification: Oakland’s Hoover Durant Library

• Fulfills the studio requirement for the Certificate in Urban Humanities
• Watch info session recording here.

For several decades, West Oakland residents have been working to establish the Hoover-Durant Library in their neighborhood as a center for community and culture.  In this course, students worked collaboratively with community members to conduct research and created products such as plans and oral histories that advance their cause. Students engaged intellectually and personally with issues of race and privilege and examine systemically entrenched inequities through the story of one neighborhood. Through time spent in the neighborhood and with its activists, students learned about local needs and strengths and collaborate with residents in ways that benefit their project. The course work is framed by the work of scholars of color who study the intersection of race, architecture and urbanism. Students learned to use and organize archives, research potential sites for the library, and created events such as a popup library or zine workshop.