Model City Vision
Mayor Ronald V. Dellums
City of Oakland, CA

Emerging from National Crises
At this critical point in the nation’s history, governments at all levels are challenged with addressing some of the biggest problems ever encountered. Whether dealing with the nationwide fiscal crisis, rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, or even ensuring our very existence by reversing global warming, governments are tasked with developing solutions on a scale not seen in our times.

As we move forward towards solutions, it is vitally important to know where we are headed so that we can build our communities and ways of life as we choose, not as a matter of happenstance. Striving to achieve the Model City requires innovative ideas, strengthened community engagement, a multi-jurisdictional collaboration and sustained commitment to the vision of a Model City. Oakland’s transformation into the Model City will not be easy and will require all of our participation to succeed.

Oakland: A Model City Visualized
The City of Oakland has worked diligently with all members of the community for more than two years to develop its Model City vision. The primary components of this Model City are:

• Healthy Communities—a healthy community is defined in the broad context, not just limited to physical and mental health. Neighborhoods must grow healthy communities by providing supportive, safe environments. Our efforts to promote healthy communities include violence prevention and comprehensive public safety initiatives, as well as school-based health sites as highlighted by the Elev8 program described in the chart attached.
• Educationally & Culturally Stimulating—Model cities provide educational opportunities at all levels, from pre-school through college, through job training and re-training. Whether the individual’s goal is to stimulate thought, provide marketable skills or enhance one’s citizenship in the world, the role of education is vital. We have successfully launched education programs aimed at recruiting Oakland-raised and culturally connected teachers through our Teach in Oakland Tomorrow described in the attachment.
• Sustainable Economic Development rooted in Principles of Equity and Inclusion  -- Within our Model City vision we have implemented a comprehensive plan to position Oakland as a leader in the sustainable economic movement by: (a) developing a green jobs corps to train Oakland residents for employment in the new green economy, (b) establishing an industrial lands policy to preserve land for business and economic development needs, (c) aligning Oakland's economic development strategies with workforce development programs and (d) prioritizing initiatives to prepare residents with employment barriers for jobs in Oakland's new economy. The attached chart describes a few of our key initiatives in this area: Oakland Green Jobs Corps, Youth and Adult Re-entry Employment Programs and Innovation Zones to attract green businesses.

Oakland: Uniquely Positioned for Success
There are a number of elements required to build a Model City. In addition to resources and commitment, a city needs to have a clear vision shared and rooted with the citizenry, political bodies, business community and non-profit agencies. The City of Oakland is uniquely positioned across all of these spectrums through the work it has conducted over the course of the last two years. Indeed, Oakland presents to the nation a template for achieving success as a Model City. Oakland’s efforts during the last two years are summarized as follows:

• Collaboration Efforts—Oakland has worked diligently to establish public-private partnerships in the furtherance of its Model City vision. Oakland has aligned goals and objectives among agencies and private entities so that once resources are made available, it is ready to take immediate action. The City has also worked with the County, local schools and special districts to ensure a comprehensive, holistic approach to solutions.
• Citizen Diversity—The City of Oakland is one of the most diverse cities in the nation. Demographics indicate that people are moving back into cities in increasing numbers, which is healthy for both the environment and the economy. While other cities are starting to experience the influx of diverse populations, Oakland already has one. And Oakland is ready to show the nation how to benefit from this cultural diversity. Oakland knows how to draw on the strength of its citizens, whether from longstanding groups such as Men and Boys of Color, or from naturally coalescing neighborhood associations.
• State Partnership—The City of Oakland is the only city in the nation that has a written agreement with the State to implement Model City goals and objectives. Working collaboratively with the State of California, Oakland has developed plans to transform Oakland’s neighborhoods most in need of help. If the nation needs an example of how a Republican Governor and a Democratic Mayor can work together to find solutions to its most pressing needs, then look no further than Oakland, California.
• Community Input—For two years, Oakland has benefited from the input of more than 800 residents sitting on 41 Task Forces who helped design the Model City vision. From these efforts came hundreds of pages of detailed goals and plans to create the Model City. In Oakland, the residents and businesses know what they want. They have expressed those needs to the City. The City listened and is poised to carry out their vision. Oakland is unique in that it has already performed the heavy lifting required to generate citizen support for such a significant effort as the implementation of a Model City.

Advantage to Choosing Oakland
If the Federal government wants to achieve visible success in a short period of time, there is no better choice than to support Oakland’s Model City vision. All of the planning and groundwork for implementing the plan have already taken place and we have highlighted 6 Model City initiatives in the attached document. With resources, support and partnership with the Federal government, Oakland is ready to show the nation how to achieve success in creating more livable, healthy, enjoyable communities for its residents, businesses and visitors alike.