East Oakland isn’t the best of neighborhoods, and we were eating yummy tacos at the Casa Jimenez Taco Truck on International Boulevard. It was a nice vibe–the sun was setting, I took a few photographs, and a motley crue of El Salvador families, Mexicans, African-Americans and tattooed burning man warehouse people stood chatting on the corner. International Boulevard is one of the rougher places in the East Bay; there are drive-by shootings here and despite lots of inspiring family-run independent stores, abused prostitutes walk up and down the strip and there is plenty of drug dealing and gangbanging to go around.
I loved the Habitat for Humanity billboard and the Sin Fronteras financial services. This is advertising that makes me happy. That day we had also just visited the 16th street station community benefit at its tail end, and I stopped by Oakland’s Eastmont Town Center on the way home. I don’t know why my boyfriend stays with me sometimes, I’m such a weird girlfriend! The place was closed on a Sunday evening, but from what I’ve read it stands as an example of rejuvenated greyfield shopping space. Greyfield is a nice word for a mall that’s out of style, run down and thrown away. The Town Center is in a poor neighborhood, but I think the occupancy is now up to 90%; instead of seeking the same retaillers other malls were capturing (a futile act) the mall had been repurposed into a social services hub, especially for the elderly. It holds a police station, a family planning center, a library, a social security office, as well as some glitzy shoe stores and groceries.
There are a lot of great things going on in the world! I need to remind myself to talk about those things more.
