We support and promote measures that make Berkeley a better place to live, work, learn and raise our families. We seek to build upon Berkeley’s renowned commitment to environmental stewardship, economic justice and social responsibility.

Livable Berkeley supports and promotes measures that will improve the quality of life of Berkeley’s residents – actions that work to reduce the City’s climate change impact, conserve energy, promote equity, and enhance transportation, housing, and employment choices in Berkeley and the greater Bay Area. We want to make Berkeley an even better place in which to live, work, learn, and raise our families where Berkeley is a leader in sustainability.

We’re thrilled to be a part of the exciting Smart Growth and positive change underway in Berkeley.

Conscientious development brings increased vitality, housing choice, and economic growth to our community, and helps our region become more sustainable. The projects below are only a small sample of the exciting developments coming to Downtown...

Mixed-Use

Located at the intersection of Shattuck and University, the 205-unit Acheson Commons project  is the largest mix-used project ever proposed in Berkeley. Acheson Commons will preserve existing historic facades on the site, while renovating the Acheson Physicians Building and constructing two new six-story apartment buildings. Livable Berkeley strongly supported this project and is happy to see it approved and on it’s way to a Fall 2014 start of construction.

Look out Acheson Commons! The Residences at Berkeley Plaza may prove to be Berkeley’s most notable mixed-use project, and the first high-rise built in Berkeley in over 40 years! This ground-breaking proposal stems directly from the success of Downtown Area Plan. The Residences at Berkeley Plaza would feature retail space, a modernized movie theater, and 355 new units of housing. Stay tuned for more news on this exciting project!

If approved, 2701 Shattuck Avenue would put Berkeley at the forefront of the trend toward offering hyper-designed micro-units as a housing option. Located at Shattuck and Derby, this building’s residents would be within walking or biking distance of Berkeley Bowl, DowntownBerkeley, and Ashby BART, and could help revitalize the South Shattuck neighborhood. Livable Berkeley is proudly supporting this project and hopes to see it win approval by the Zoning Adjustments Board.

Public Spaces

It seems everyone has been talking about the potential sale of the Berkeley Main Post Office in Downtown Berkeley. Not everyone is pleased, of course, but Livable Berkeley has high hopes for this unique opportunity to bring something new and exciting to Downtown Berkeley. Adaptive reuse could turn the post office into a museum, an arts space, or even a public market hall like San Francisco’s Ferry Building. With a hot-off-the-presses letter, Livable Berkeley hopes to inspire the Planning Commission and the City Council to think openly and creatively about the future of the Main Post Office.

With the City Council’s May adoption of a Pilot Parklet Program, Berkeley will soon get to experience the benefits of reclaiming street parking for cars as public places for people. Popular merchants in North and West Berkeley are already lining up to get their parklets approved. Check out what Livable Berkeley’s had to say about this innovative program!

The 51B is one of the most heavily used bus lines in the East Bay. AC Transit is now proposing 51B line upgrades to improve speed and service on this popular route. Potential improvements include signal priority for transit vehicles, bus stop bulb outs, new traffic signals, and rush-hour bus-only lanes. Livable Berkeley recently urged the Berkeley Transportation Commission to follow through with the City’s commitments to climate action and transit-first policies by supporting these and further improvements.