Communities of Interest

"Council districts shall reflect communities of interest as much as possible."

The paramount objective in redistricting is to draw district boundaries so that they are "nearly equal" in population, and to do so in compliance with the the U.S. Constitution, the federal Voting Rights Act, the City Charter, and other applicable laws. 

Next, in order of priority, in the criteria adopted by the City Council (Resolution No. 84443): "council districts shall reflect communities of interest as much as possible." 

This, naturally, begs the question: What are "communities of interest?"

Generally speaking, "communities of interest" are whatever the people living in a particular area, neighborhood or community understand them to be. For example: a neighborhood with a strong sense of identity and cohesiveness, a police beat, a school attendance area, the area around a business district or a park. It could also be a combination of neighborhoods that share the same culture and/or socioeconomic characteristics.

More specifically, Oakland city staff provide the following definition in their staff report presented to the City Council on June 4, 2013.

Neighborhoods, defined both by official and informal boundaries:

• Officially-defined communities of interest can include areas such as homeowner associations, master-planned communities, historical neighborhoods, police patrol areas, school attendance zones, business development/improvement districts, redevelopment/planning areas, or other similar officially-designated areas.
• Informal communities of interest can include areas such as neighborhoods around a given park; areas of multi-family units or single-family units; areas around a school; areas where a large number of people speak a language other than English; areas of similar income, home values, poverty levels, or other socio-economic factors.
• Any other definition of "neighborhood" provided by the people who live in a given area, who feel a common legislative interest.