Chapter 9: THE CHANGING SOUTH

     This chapter talks about a little bit of history.

     Oakland is occupied by Native Americans called Ohlone thousands of years ago. Native Americans lived in the region for over 5,000 years. The Spanish visited the area in the 1770s, and came to settle about 50 years later. Asians, African Americans, and those of Northern European extraction came with the Gold Rush. The population of Oakland is mainly African American. Oakland's leading industries are transportation, food processing, and ship building.

       The area of the ranch included a woodland of oak trees, this area was called encinal a Spanish word meaning "oakland", the origin of the city's name.  

     
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#History
             http://www.oaklandhistory.com/files/hmenu.html
            http://www.bycitylight.com/cities/us-ca-oakland-history.php
            http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-West/Oakland-Economy.html

Chapter 8: APPALACHIA AND THE OZARKS

      In this chapter, once again, has nothing to do with my city. Therefore, I will introduce topography of Oakland.
      
      Oakland is a coast city but it also has many hills. Oaklanders most broadly refer to their city's terrain as "the flatlands" and "the hills", which until recent waves of gentrification have also been a reference to Oakland's deep economic divide, with "the hills" being more affluent communities. About two-thirds of Oakland lies in the flat plain of the East Bay, with one-third rising into the foothills and hills of the East Bay range.
     

      One thing that I have to mention is my hometown city back in China is the sister city of Oakland. It is also a coast city. One side face to the sea and other sides covers by the mountains. Very similar to Oakland. Here is the picture of my city. If you want to come and visit, please contact me.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Geography

Chaptet 7: THE BYPASSED EAST

      Once again, this chapter never mentioned west coast. It mainly focus on Atlantic Provinces, Northern England and Adirondack region of New york. Therefore, I will talk about average income of Oakland.

      In 2008 the median income for a household in the city was $48,596 and the median income for a family was $55,949. Males had a median income of $46,383 versus $44,690 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,094.
       
        Let me compare with San Francisco, which will take you only about 20 minutes drinving. San Francisco ranks third of American cities in median household income with a 2007 value of $65,519. Median family income is $81,136, and San Francisco ranks 8th of major cities worldwide in the number of billionaires known to be living within city limits.

      We can easily conclude that Oakland income level is much lower than San Francisco's. Oakland is relatively poor.

       Lastly, I will present a chart show the average salary you will earn in different career in Oakland.
  

 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Demographics
             http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Location=Oakland-CA/Salary
             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco#Demographics

Chapter 5: THE NORTH AMERICAN MANUFACTURING CORE

      In this chapter, it mainly focus on Ohio Valley, Megalopolis on east coast and Southern shores of the Great Lakes. It also deals with agriculture productions and mineral developments. However, Oakland has none of those industries. Therefore I will talk about teh main industries in Oakland. 

  

      Since Oakland is by the coast, its industries are related to the ports. Oakland's leading industries are business and health care services, transportation, food processing, light manufacturing, government, arts, culture, and entertainment. The Port of Oakland is one of the busiest ports in the world for container ships. Nearly 200,000 jobs are related to the movement of cargo through Oakland marine terminals.Oakland is an important commercial center. Approximately 13 percent of Oakland's work force is employed in the wholesale and retail trade. The city has hundreds of manufacturing plants employing almost 9 percent of the city's workers. Shipbuilding has flourished along the city's inner harbor.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Geography
            http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-West/Oakland-Economy.html
            http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108573.html

Chapter 4: MEGALOPOLIS

     This chapter mainly deal with Megalopolis. Megalopolis initially cioned by French geographer, Jean Gottmann for the large population agglomeration from Boston to Washington D.C.. Now, any agglomeration of large, coalescing super cities. As I mentioned earlier, Oakland is the eighth largeast city of California. I checked online, it could count as Megalopolis. More accurately, San Francisco, which is very close to Oakland could be counted as a Megalopolis.

     As the map shows, Oakland and San Francisco are in Bay area. They both are coast cities. According to Wikipedia, Oakland is a major West Coast port, and there are nearly 200,000 jobs related to marine cargo transport. Oakland experienced an increase of both its population and of land values in the early-to-mid first decade of the 21st century. The 10k Plan, which began during former mayor Elihu Harris' administration, and intensified during former mayor Jerry Brown's administration resulted in several thousand units of new multi-family housing and development.

    Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Geography
                http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalopolis_(city_type)

Chapter 3: FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN ACTIVITY

      Chapter 3 covers the population and settlement. Immigration also mentioned in this chapter.
     
      According to the 2010 US Cencus, there are 390,724 people lives Oakland. The city was 27.3% Black or African American, 25.9% White(non-Hispanic), 16.7% Asian. Hispanics or Latinos (of any race): make up 25.4% of the total population. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.38. I found that an analysis by the Urban Institute of U.S. Census 2000 numbers showed that Oakland has the third-highest concentration of gays and lesbians among the 50 largest U.S. cities, behind San Francisco and Seattle. Census data show that, among incorporated places that have at least 500 female couples, Oakland has the nation's largest proportion. In 2000, Oakland counted 2,650 lesbian couples; one in every 41 Oakland couples listed themselves as a same-sex female partnership


     As I already mentioned in Chapter 1, Ohlone people was the original settelers in Oakland before the Spainish conquered them. As the Census shows, African American are the major population in Oakland. According to the 2000 U.S. census, Oakland is the second most ethnically diverse city in Alameda County, with many languages spoken.


     In 1980s, Mexican start to immigrant to Oakland. Mexican population is increased. Still, African American is the major population in Oakland.




Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Post-WWII_.281940s_and_1950s.29
             http://oaklandca.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm

Chapter 2: GEOGRAPHIC PATTERNS OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

In chapter 2, basically talks about topography. Here is some stats that I found:

Area: 56 square miles (2000)
Elevation: 42 feet above sea level
Average Temperatures: January, 49.9° F; July, 62.1° F; annual average, 56.7° F
Average Annual Precipitation: 23 inches


Oakland has earned the nickname "bright side of the Bay" because of its sunny skies and moderate year-round climate. Humidity remains high while precipitation is low. Almost all the city's rainfall occurs between October and January. The temperature usually reads about five degrees warmer than San Francisco, and the warmest months are September and October. The area's climate has been ranked number one in the country by Places Rated Almanac.

Soil and vegetations:
The land that Oakland covers was once a mosaic of coastal terrace prairie, oak woodland, and north coastal scrub. Lake Merritt has only recently become a "lake," where it once was a productive estuary linked to the Bay. Oakland is home to many rare and endangered species including the Presidio Clarkia, Pallid Manzanita, Tiburon Buckwheat, Oakland Star-Tulip, Most-Beautiful Jewel Flower, Western Leatherwood, and the Alameda Whipsnake. Many rare species are localized to serpentine soils and bedrock.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Post-WWII_.281940s_and_1950s.29

              http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-West/Oakland-Geography-and-Climate.html

Chapter 1: Regions and Themes

      Chapter 1 deal with some basic and very general information about the geography. I will talk about some basic information such as location and history about Oakland.

      Oakland is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California. Oakland is located at 37°48'16"N 122°16'15W. It is a major West Coast port, located on San Francisco Bay, about 8 miles (13 km) east of San Francisco. Oakland is a central hub city for the Bay Area subregion collectively called the East Bay, and it is the county seat of Alameda County.

     

     The area was inhabited by the Ohlone people for thousands of years before Spanish settlers displaced them in the 18th and 19th centuries. New Spain became independent in 1821 under the name "Mexico." In 1846, the Territory of Alta California was conquered by American forces, becoming simply "California." Throughout the 1840s and 1850s, American squatters laid legal claim to the land held by the Peralta family. In 1852, the California legislature incorporated the town of Oakland.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California