As rents increase in Oakland, more residents are living in buildings that are noncompliant with municipal codes and safety standards. The city has enacted policies to increase staffing and improve technology for building inspections and code enforcement. The mayor also issued an executive order that calls for working with building owners to bring buildings to code — rather than shutting down buildings occupied by residents — unless there is an immediate threat to safety. To balance the priorities of safety and affordable housing, the city’s Planning & Building Department is working to apply modern technology to its growing number of open cases and code violations.

To support this work, FUSE executive fellow Sean Hickey will identify how best to modify the city’s existing case management software to support code enforcement and make pertinent information available to the public.