Much of America’s mainstream doomsday-readiness culture assumes that preparation begins (and ends) with the individual or the single family. According to the author, that’s not the case. Readiness begins with your community.

To those of us who live in the Rockridge community, it is a prized nearby place to enjoy the Great Outdoors.

Ask any Rockridge resident about the vacant triangle-shaped lot at College and Claremont and nearly all will have a strong opinion about what they hope it becomes.

Part of the Reimagining the Vacant Triangular Lot at Claremont & College series.

Part of the Reimagining the Vacant Triangular Lot at Claremont & College series.

Part of the Reimagining the Vacant Triangular Lot at Claremont & College series.

This measure focusses on two particular categories of business: small retailers grossing less than a million dollars per year and new businesses just starting out in Oakland.

We wanted to build our community (not destroy it). We wanted to spend time with each other, to hang out and to work together to make something better.

Their task, as a design study, was to design a building that balanced the program's need for affordable senior housing units with the community's desire for public outdoor space.