LOS ANGELES — In a partnership unique in American higher education, UC Berkeley and city and nonprofit collaborators unveiled plans Wednesday to provide interim housing at a converted motel, as well as meals and social services, to unsheltered people sleeping in the iconic People's Park.
The announcement marks a major step forward in the four-year journey to repurpose the park — one of California's most contested pieces of land with a half-century history of protests and conflict — into space for badly needed housing for students and low-income community members. About 60% of the 2.8-acre park will remain open green space, and a memorial to its storied history will be erected.
The plan came together under two leaders — Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín and UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ — who took gutsy steps to reimagine People's Park as a way to tackle the twin crises of homelessness and a student housing crunch.
