Berkeley, California. Famed for its prestigious University of California Berkeley, this charming yet bustling city sits on the eastern coast of the San Francisco Bay, straddled by the much larger city of Oakland to its south, Richmond to its north, and the famed Oakland Hills to its east. It's in the Eastern foothills and valleys where I grew up in a typical sprawling, lifeless California suburb. However, as soon as you pass through the Caldecott Tunnel and emerge into the Berkeley-Oakland metropolitan core, you feel a world apart from the quaintness of the suburbs. A short 15-minute drive or a quick ride on the train and I’m suddenly a world apart from the monotonous and lifeless town I call home.
The story of the Bay Area, anchored by its regional hub of San Francisco, is also mainly predicated on the growth and sprawl of San Francisco, or rather its lack of capacity to sprawl. Thus, sprouting up across the bay came the cities of Oakland and Berkeley. These early cities, founded and already formalized by the time of the rise of the automobile, were dense, walkable, and grew around an extensive streetcar network called the Key System. This massive network of streetcars was instrumental in the development and growth of these cities, and their legacy is still clearly seen today in the way the city is laid-out and through legacy infrastructure that is still standing, such as a converted car-tunnel that used to carry streetcars.
Although the streetcar rails were ripped out and the system dismantled, what remains are the bones of a city that grew up around them. It's important to remember that, during the rise and for a majority of the history of these cities, especially Berkeley, was that these were once suburbs, not bustling fully fledged cities. This makes the comparisons all the more bleak when I eventually emerge from the east side of the hills, and return to the suburbs I call home; Endless cul-de-sacs, uninspired strip malls, and cookie cutter houses. However, suburbs don’t have to be bad. Berkeley, while hardly a suburb nowadays, is a shining example of how the urban and the rural can be married harmoniously into the ideal suburb. Combined with the stunning natural environment and the gorgeous Victorian and Spanish architecture, it's still easy to see Berkeley as a suburb–A place outside of the city.
Thus, I tend to view Berkeley and cities in general with a comparative lens to the suburbs I grew up in. Perhaps this disparity between these two urban environments has led me to develop a rose-tinted perspective regarding the city, especially considering the immense problems that the city faces. But Berkeley is truly an idyllic city, beauty and charm oozing from every neighborhood, and the best food scene I’ve experienced. I also tend to use a romantic lens when viewing cities, especially one as remarkable as Berkeley. Looking down upon a panoramic view of the whole Bay Area from the Berkeley hills inspires awe and wonder, and makes me proud to call this region my home.
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