Oakland Alameda Adaptation Committee

Building Climate Resilience Along Oakland and Alameda’s Shoreline

The Oakland Alameda Adaptation Committee (OAAC) is a coalition of shoreline communities and stakeholders working to co-create a coordinated and inclusive future-looking action plan and to accelerate sea level rise adaptation, protect and restore water quality, recreation, and habitat, and promote community resilience.

Our Involvement

Greenbelt Alliance is working with the City of Alameda as the lead partner to support community engagement along the shoreline. Drawing on our expertise in advocacy coalitions, we’ve brought together hundreds of residents through workshops, tours, and skill-building sessions focused on sea level rise education and planning. This engagement directly informs the City of Alameda’s technical plans to adapt the shoreline to rising seas.

We’re working alongside Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda (CASA), Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation/Sogorea Té Land Trust, Hood Planning Group, Ninth Root, and the REAP Climate Center with California Climate Action Corps Fellows to create a more resilient shoreline for our East Bay communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure.

Why This Matters

Low-lying areas along the Oakland-Alameda estuary face imminent flooding risks from climate change. Vulnerable areas include Jack London Square, Deep East Oakland, and Bay Farm Island in Alameda. Without intervention, flooding threatens:

Residential communities and local businesses
Critical port infrastructure
Municipal sewer systems
Industrial lands

Property loss and displacement disproportionately impacts lower-income residents. Our OAAC work builds community understanding of these risks while developing actionable strategies.

What's Next

We’re advancing infrastructure solutions that protect both communities and ecosystems.

By using nature-based solutions, we have the opportunity to preserve wildlife habitat while reducing the impacts of localized pollution. This project allows Oakland and Alameda to set an example for holistic climate resilient adaptation as SB 272 (Laird) goes into effect and requires cities to develop shoreline adaptation plans.

OAAC Projects

Long-term Subregional Adaptation Plan

The Long-term Subregional Adaptation Plan details preliminary strategies and pathways for shoreline communities to take as the climate and shorelines change over time, as required by state law. This project covers the shorelines of Oakland-Alameda Estuary, San Leandro Bay, and Bay Farm Island.

Oakland-Alameda Estuary Project

The Oakland Alameda Estuary Project is a near-term sea level rise adaptation design concept to address increased coastal, stormwater, and groundwater flooding for up to two feet of sea level rise over the coming decades. The project will include strategies to elevate and adapt low-lying areas of the shoreline combined with green infrastructure such as rain gardens and storm drainage improvements.

Bay Farm Island Adaptation

The Bay Farm Adaptation Project is a near-term sea level rise adaptation project to address two feet of sea level rise over the coming decades. This project planning effort also includes long-term adaptation strategies for the project area (2080 and beyond).

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Get Involved

Visit the OAAC website and sign up for updates to join our work building climate-resilient shorelines.

All photos by Maurice Ramirez, City of Alameda

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