On Sunday, June 27, Downtown Oakland opened two miles of its streets for traffic-free fun and activities -- zumba dancing, circus arts, BMX bike competitions and performances from local musicians. Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO) partnered with the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, Oaklandish, Oakland YMCA, Cycles of Change, and other civic organizations to create the East Bay's first car-free event in the Ciclovía mold. Preparations are in the works for another Oaklavia in the coming months.

The proposed Oakland Airport Connector train. Photo: BART via Streetsblog SF

Several Bay Area advocacy groups briefed the media on the civil-rights complaint they filed against the OAC, which the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) heeded last week in a letter [PDF] that threatened to yank $70 million in stimulus money from the project unless planners comply with federal equity rules.

Stuart Cohen, executive director of TransForm, said advocates' victorious bid to push Bay Area's transit planners to examine more cost-effective and equitable alternatives to the OAC would "have a ripple effect" as other cities re-examine how their transit plans would affect lower-income and minority riders.

The FTA's decision on the OAC, described as the first of its kind, "represents government at its best," PolicyLink president Angela Glover Blackwell told reporters, adding that by "us[ing] the power of purse to make transportation agencies accountable, government shows it can be consistent with its values."

So where else are civil rights complaints playing a role in local transportation decision-making?

In the Twin Cities of Minnesota, several community groups filed suit against planners of the Central Corridor light rail line to protest the choice of route, prompting local and federal officials to announce the addition of three new stops.

The move appears to be motivated as much by low-income residents' concerns about changing development in the area as it is by their fear of losing transit access. A corresponding lawsuit filed by the Minnesota groups charges that the Central Corridor “project is designed to result in the displacement of the existing population along the Central Corridor through gentrification," according to the Finance & Commerce newspaper.

Meanwhile, the town of Navassa, North Carolina, has filed a civil rights complaint of its own with the Federal Highway Administration seeking to expedite construction of a highway bypass through their town, alleging that the road project would bring needed jobs and economic benefits to local residents.

Back in California, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) authority and metropolitan area officials have a limited amount of time to respond to the FTA's letter before the $70 million must be reprogrammed to other projects.

Public Advocates staff attorney Guillermo Mayer, who helped work on the OAC complaint, said the money could be used to help close the operating budget gap for San Francisco's transit systems despite legal limits on the use of stimulus funding for transit operations.

"The short story is that it's flexible," Mayer said, citing the federal government's treatment of preventive maintenance as a capital expense rather than an operating one. "These funds can be used to maintain existing services."

Born in the streets of Oakland, scraper bikes first gained attention as a trend in bicycle customization that spread with viral speed, thanks to YouTube. Since the Scraper Bike video debuted two years ago, they've become much more: a practical means of greening urban space, a social movement, and a rallying point for young people organizing against violence in their communities.

Tyrone "Baby Champ" Stevenson, who styles himself the Scraper Bike King, says the first scraper bikes were created by Oakland teens who coveted, but could not afford, scraper cars -- souped-up sedans painted with bright colors and with rims so large they scrape the undercarriage. Scraper bikes are such a hit that many teens skip the cars and keep pedaling well past the age of 16.

On July 25, Stevenson organized the second annual "Bike 4 Life" ride to call for an end to violence in Oakland's neighborhoods. "We're trying to bring together a gun truce," he says, "because a lot of people in our community are dying from guns." This Streetfilm features scenes from the ride and more from Stevenson about the movement he helped launch.

A night scene from Oakland's Uptown Unveiled. Photo: Living in the O

So we took the “Sunday Streets” issue to the streets -- literally -- at last Thursday’s Uptown Unveiled! event at 19th and Telegraph, which itself provided a dramatic illustration of how sweet it is to block off the streets for community entertainment. Hundreds of Oaklanders filled the streets to enjoy performances, people-watching, and other free activities. WOBO’s table drew a stream of walkers and cyclists, and we tapped their creativity to gather suggestions for a name. Together with the ideas generated at Tuesday’s Volunteers Meeting, we’ve got quite a list.

Ideas include "Open Roads," "Streets for People," "Walkland" and "East Bay Easy" -- leave a comment to put in your vote!

Elsewhere, PA Walks and Bikes brought up an opportunity to participate in updating the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Pedestrian Guide; Upper Manhattan residents gave the MTA their suggestions for better routes for the Bx20 bus; and a member in St. Louis Park, MN is looking for advice about a local bridge.

Via TreeHugger, this YouTube clip features Oakland's Trunk Boiz boasting about their scraper bikes, which sport custom-painted frames and rims to match (more photos here). The video has become an online sensation, drawing more than two million views. Tyrone Stevenson, one of the creators of the scraper bike style, is ready to capitalize, reports NPR:

"Oakland has been taken over by scraper bikes," says Stevenson. "On the Internet, it is worldwide. There's people from literally across the world making these bikes, from Portland, Oregon, to Japan to Australia to Jamaica."

Stevenson says he's already making a living scraperizing bikes, but he's got big plans for the future: trademarks, patents and, someday soon, a scraper bike shop.

Stevenson's rhyme also includes the heavy favorite for Streetsblog's 2008 Lyric of the Year:

I'm movin' on my scraper bike
I'm cruisin' on my scraper bike
My scraper bike go hard
I don't need no car

That's the sound of America's youth culture catching up to the Japanese.

A "green-collar job" involves environment-friendly products or services. Construction work on a green building, organic farming, solar panel manufacturing, bicycle repair: all are "green jobs." The green-collar economy is big money, and it's booming. Including renewable energy and clean technology, "green" is the fifth largest market sector in the United States.

If this movement succeeds, the effort in Oakland can point the way forward-to a new era of solution-based politics for cities across the United States. If this movement fails, a city with so much promise could fall further into despair. The stakes are high, and the next six months offer a once-in-a-generation opportunity to write a new story for Oakland.