NeighborWorks Organizations in the Bay Area:
A Visitor’s Tour

Excerpted from Spring 2002 NeighborWorks bright ideas Story and Photos by David Plihal

To this day, California’s magical landscape is a repository of dreams for this infrequent visitor arriving from an East Coast megalopolis. On a recent trip, I found San Francisco to be an exotic land full of history, yet teeming with youthful vibrancy. The fall of the dot-com economy has produced anxiety for some, but there has not been an obvious mass exodus. The belief that good times are just around the corner is strong, a hope fueled by coffeehouse buzz and cutting-edge ideas.

Asian insights and Latino verve, African-American political activism, hipster mysticism, and pioneer vision are all in play here. Look out across the wide expanse of ocean that signals the beginning of the Pacific Rim and you get a sense that nothing is impossible here in the Golden State.

But some things are a challenge. The median household income in California, for example, is $39,595; median home prices hover around $277,000. Home ownership for many is difficult, but NeighborWorks organizations in the Bay Area are somehow making it a reality, even for low-and moderate-income buyers. Each Bay Area organization goes about its work in fresh and creative ways that, nevertheless, are grounded in tradition. On my trip, I visited a few of them and discovered new friends dedicated to their communities and to making home ownership work well.

View articles. [PDF, 1.34MB]

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Unity Council's Fruitvale Transit Village Comes Alive
After a decade of planning and four years of building, the $100 million Fruitvale Village in Oakland was unveiled in October 2003 at a gala event and awards dinner. The San Francisco Chronicle was among the publications to cover the event. View article. To learn more about this project of NeighborWorks member, The Unity Council, click here.

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