The Battle for People's Park

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 17 August 2022

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1969, a group of students, activists and community members in Berkeley transformed a muddy abandoned parking lot into a park. They called it People's Park and ever since, the space has served as a hub for political organizing, culture and community. But throughout its 53 year history, there have been ongoing disputes over the land between the park community and the park’s owner, UC Berkeley. Now, the university has big plans to build housing on the site, which has led to recent clashes between protesters and police. We’ll hear from the UC and opponents of the plan, and we ask our listeners: what should the future of the park look like? Guests: Dan Mogulof, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Public Affairs, University of California, Berkeley Harvey Smith, member of People's Park Historic District Advocacy Group; author of "Berkeley and the New Deal" Supriya Yelimeli, housing and homelessness reporter, Berkeleyside Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:22.7	vegetables daily. Learn more at Ranchoer Tuerta.com. Support for forum comes from Broadway
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0:40.3	a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in Georgia. When Leo is accused of an
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1:01.8	The riveting and gloriously hopeful parade plays the Orpheum Theater for three weeks only, May 20th through June 8th.
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1:08.7	From KQED.
1:11.6	From KQED.
1:16.6	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
1:22.6	People's Park, born of a parking lot, battled into existence by the 60s generation, held together by activists until this very day.
1:30.6	By the property system of the state, it's owned by the University of California.
1:34.3	But those with other histories of this one block, Just Off Telegraph Ave, think it belongs to the people who built it, or perhaps those who lived on it for generations before colonization.
1:43.2	Right now, the current battle on the war is whether the university should be allowed to build
1:46.7	more than a thousand units of student and low-income housing, or whether the park should remain
1:50.9	an open space, a sanctuary of sorts, for people in need of help.
1:54.9	It's contentious and no wonder.
1:56.3	It's a moral drama, its radical history, its housing crisis, it's homelessness.
2:00.6	People's Park is a story
2:01.4	of the last 60 years in so many different ways. Stay tuned for the story after this news.
2:10.3	Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal. Here's the current situation at People's Park in Berkeley. For a long time,
	...

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