Berkeley was not only the first city in America to use racist zoning to prevent lower-income and non-whites from moving into wealthy neighborhoods – but the Elmwood district was the first neighborhood in the city to receive such treatment. That 1916 plan persists basically unchanged to do this day, with the Elmwood having the highest percentage of white residents in Alameda County. The State is acting well within its obligations to put a stop to such policies.
Berkeley was not only the first city in America to use racist zoning to prevent lower-income and non-whites from moving into wealthy neighborhoods – but the Elmwood district was the first neighborhood in the city to receive such treatment. That 1916 plan persists basically unchanged to do this day, with the Elmwood having the highest percentage of white residents in Alameda County. The State is acting well within its obligations to put a stop to such policies.