Development in Berkeley’s core district was set in a new direction with the Downtown Area Plan of 2012 and recent California laws. Today, more than a dozen tall residential buildings are under construction downtown, with 5,000 housing units in the pipeline.

Few California city districts are growing as tall and as fast as downtown Berkeley. Decades of deficient supply of student housing set the stage for this rapid change in direction. What happened, and what are the challenges to come? Can Berkeley’s experience provide lessons for other California cities?