Housing Issue 2014

Over the last couple of years, there has been a noticeable increase in media coverage of gentrification and the rise of Bay Area urban real estate prices. Below is meant to be an explanation of what gentrification is and why the issue of affordability in cities has become such a high-profile topic lately.

For most freshmen at UC Berkeley, February was a month filled with Valentine’s Day cards, basketball games and DeCal fairs. For me, it was a month of roommate-mediation meetings, apartment tours and box-packing.

Since 1982, the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board has existed to regulate increases in rent, mediate conflicts between landlords and tenants and develop housing legislation.

Tucked just around the bend of Le Conte Avenue sits a four-story cottage — wood framed and shrouded in redwood trees — home to an elderly couple, 26 UC Berkeley students, two cats and one dog.

Last week, while my Facebook was exploding with friends’ posts about getting into Stanford’s and Harvard’s graduate programs, I faced a dilemma: Do I change out of my 5-year-old sweatpants and oversized sweater when getting my SpoonRocket order? Not that I cared how I looked — I was just worried the guy who delivered my mac and cheese at 3:21 p.m. would be the same one who delivered second one at 3:42 p.m. I decided I didn’t care and kept my comfortable clothes on.

Hard hats and construction trucks may become a familiar sight to Berkeley residents within the next few years as Downtown Berkeley experiences a surge in housing developments.