East Oakland, Oakland, California

East Oakland is the southeastern portion of Oakland, California, and takes up the largest portion of the city's land area. It stretches between Lake Merritt in the northwest and San Leandro in the southeast. Many areas of East Oakland have been plagued by high crime in the postwar period and are known for violence and drug activity.

Geography

East Oakland stretches between Lake Merritt in the northwest and San Leandro in the southeast. It generally has a diagonal layout. East Oakland has numbered avenues (1st to 109th) that run northeast to southwest, and numbered streets (East 7th to East 33rd) that run northwest to southeast. Interstates 580 and 880 also run northwest to southeast. Main northwest-southeast thoroughfares include East 14th Street (renamed International Blvd. in 1996 (within the city of Oakland only)), MacArthur Blvd., Foothill Blvd., and Bancroft Ave. Main northeast-southwest thoroughfares include Fruitvale Ave., 35th Ave., High St., Seminary Ave., 73rd Ave. (which becomes the Hegenberger Expressway south of East 14th St. to Oakland International Airport), and 98th Ave. East Oakland is home to Mills College, the Oakland Coliseum and the Oracle Arena.

The area between 70th and 109th Avenues and near the airport became notorious, starting in the 1980s, as one of the most violent and drug/gang dominated regions in the state, after much of the area experienced a drastic socioeconomic decline following the 1970s; prior to this, most of...
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