Emeryville's transformation over
the last decade and a half, from a decaying industrial town to regional
service sector center, has been remarkable. Not only does the city
itself look vastly different but Emeryville has grown into one of the richest cities in
the Bay Area in terms of per person revenues. Despite these gains,
however, there is evidence that many Emeryville residents have been left out
of the boom and the city's growth has had negative impacts on the region.
In April 2003, EBASE along with the University of California
at Berkeley, published a study of how the City of Emeryville helped achieved
this transformation and what the outcomes were for the community and the region.
You can download the full study here: Behind the Boomtown:
Growth and Urban Redevelopment in Emeryville (3.9 mb). Highlights of the
study's findings include:
Economic Development Activity
From 1990 to 2003, developers have built over three million
square feet of new office space and three regional retail destinations. All
told, private investors poured $760 million into Emeryville's 1.2 square
miles.
From 1990 to 2001, the City spent $157 million on economic
development. This represented two out of every five dollars spent on all
public services by the City.
Jobs
Emeryville's growth outpaced that of the greater East Bay
region. While the number of manufacturing jobs continued to decline,
Emeryville gained 5,500 net new jobs - a growth rate twice that of the greater
region.
However, amidst a regional crisis of economic opportunity and
hardship for working families, job growth resulting from Emeryville's
redevelopment did not improve labor market conditions for low-income families.
For a family of three with one earner, seventy-two percent
(72%) of the new jobs do not pay enough to make ends meet, according to a
Basic Family Budget measurement.
For a family of four with two earners, 45% do not pay
enough to meet a Basic Family Budget threshold.
During this boom period, the City did provide any effective
job training or employment programs to link low-income residents to growing
economic opportunities.
Housing
For a short summary of Emeryville's track record on housing,
download this fact sheet:
EBASE
Emeryville Housing FAQ (230k).
The City used its considerable redevelopment resources to
develop relatively more affordable housing than other Bay Area cities, as
measured by regional fair-share" housing goals. However, the new supply of
affordable housing was inadequate to meet the need created by Emeryville's
redevelopment efforts.
From 1991 to 2004, the City and private developers will
have built 2,186 units of housing. Using tax increment revenues and an
inclusionary zoning policy, the City will have reserved 30% of these units as
affordable to very low to moderate-income households.
However, the City did not produce adequate housing for the
expanded Emeryville workforce.
Of the affordable housing demand generated by all new jobs
from 1991 to 2000, Emeryville only provided 27% of needed units. Of the
affordable housing demand generated by new jobs created by redevelopment
efforts from 1994 to 2002, Emeryville only provided 41% of needed units.
Other cities in the region have had to absorb at least
three out of four new worker households.
Revenues
The City of Emeryville's general fund grew by 63%, adjusted
for inflation, over the period 1990 to 2001. The City ranks highest in the
East Bay in general fund revenues per person and second highest in the Bay
Area. While the City exported housing demand from redevelopment efforts, other
cities housing Emeryville's workforce lost out to Emeryville in revenue
generation.
Due to the development of three major retail centers,
Emeryville garnered 70% of net new retail sales in all major cities along the
East Bay's I-80/I-880 corridor from 1990 to 2001.
As a result, from 1990 to 2002, Emeryville's sales tax
revenues grew by 51%.
Emeryville ranks highest in sales tax per person in the
East Bay and second highest in the Bay Area.
Community Needs
A before-and-after comparison of key community conditions
shows that, while redevelopment has had a number of positive impacts, it has
failed to adequately address the most immediate needs of Emeryville's low-income
residents.
Conditions that improved:
The City's redevelopment efforts have improved residents'
access to locally serving retail, such as a grocery store and a drugstore.
The City has facilitated the remediation of hundreds of
acres of contaminated land, resulting in a decreased likelihood that residents
will be exposed to hazardous industrial wastes.
Conditions that did not improve, or worsened:
Low-income people of color were displaced from one of the
city's three main neighborhoods as housing costs rose. Residents of another
neighborhood experienced increased poverty and family hardship over the course
of the decade.
The City did not provide adequate employment services to
help low-income residents access growing economic opportunity in Emeryville.
Traffic congestion has increased significantly in
Emeryville. Though the City has built several new roads and carried out
extensive capital improvements to the existing circulation system, these
efforts have not mitigated the high volume of traffic that has come with
redevelopment.
Transit service for residents has improved as new bus
routes were added to serve an influx of commuters and workers from surrounding
cities. However, most shoppers drive to Emeryville, leading to heavy
congestion on the weekends that inconveniences both auto and bus users.
The City failed to provide adequate park and recreation
space to eastern Emeryville, the area of the city that is home to most of
Emeryville's lowincome residents.
This web page was prepared by the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy
(EBASE) a regional non-profit policy and research organization that aims to
increase economic opportunities for working families. For more information
on EBASE, click here: Who is EBASE? You
can also send questions or comments to
info@workingeastbay.org.
Last updated: 10/23/04.
(3.9 mb). Highlights of the
study's findings include:
