Advanced Urban Design & Planning Studio: Golden Gate Fields

In summer 2023 the owners of Golden Gate Fields (GGF), a horse racing facility on the Albany and Berkeley waterfront, announced the track will permanently close in 2024 after over 80 years of racing. The closure of the 140-acre track creates a much anticipated opportunity to rethink this stretch of the East Bay shoreline.

But redevelopment comes with challenges. Local advocates advocate for turning the entire site into waterfront open space. Others say redevelopment could help alleviate the region’s dire housing shortage, attract major employers, bolster local tax revenues, and demonstrate new models of climate adaptive urban development. A significant portion of the GGF is on former wetlands and is subject to flooding. Any plan for this site requires a rigorous participatory and inclusive planning process.

CYP 208, a studio was composed of Master of City Planning students, focused on plans and frameworks, including: connectivity, open spaces, ecology, future land uses, recreation, urban form, district identity, and community engagement.

Two courses (CYP 248 and RDEV 270) joined forces to create urban design and development proposals. Students created plans that balanced several critical demands, including: climate change resilience and ecological vitality; financial viability; local tax revenue and political viability; spatial clarity and aesthetic delight; social equity and housing affordability; and sensitivity to surrounding urban conditions.

Studio projects explored: cultural and recreational urban village along the shoreline, a blue economy innovation district, and an intergenerational living community. Each had the ultimate goal of creating a more inclusive and vibrant community space for all.

Students: Suraya Akhenaton, Lia Bobay, Julia Buford, Paul Liu, Mary McGee, Nikesha Medard, Dana Morgan, Ana Padilla, Diana Quintero, Petra Reyes, Laura Rothman

Students: Dini Amattullah, Edgar Arusei, Lamis Chabbani, Yorangga Citra Arundati, Shaun Clopton

Students: Karina Bingham, Brent Van Brocklin, Daniel Cartin, Rashida Chase, Christopher Desponds, Sammy Ephraim, Junghak Kim, Luis Miguel Revoredo, Janay Wellington