A recent episode of KQED’s housing and climate podcast, Sold Out, revisited the Oakland EcoBlock pilot project since it was first featured in 2023. Led by researchers at the California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE) and the CITRIS Climate initiative, EcoBlock is addressing climate change at the urban block scale. By retrofitting existing residential and commercial properties—originally built for gas appliances—with electrification and resource efficiency, the project aims to demonstrate replicable strategies for decarbonizing cities and providing greater community resilience.
Read EcoBlock’s original feature on KQED
With the majority of upgrades now complete, KQED spoke with the EcoBlock residents about their experiences thus far. Many expressed their appreciation for their newly installed heat pumps, which provide both heating and air conditioning. The community also gathered to install native plants along the block, as well as in a newly constructed bioretention facility designed to reduce stormwater runoff and protect local water quality. One resident reflected on the effort required to implement this transition: “That’s kind of one of the things that’s been amazing—to see the persistence of the folks who have been working on this project and how they really want to see this completed.”
EcoBlock researchers and community members plant native trees in newly landscaped areas along the block. Credit: Oakland EcoBlock
Dr. Therese Peffer, the principal investigator of EcoBlock and associate director of CIEE, underscored the growing enthusiasm from other communities interested in implementing similar initiatives. “We’ve had a lot of people reach out to us and say, ‘Man, I wanna do this with my block, I wanna do this in my neighborhood,’” said Peffer. “So that’s our goal in the next year. What are the lessons learned? What can we capture and put online for other folks who are interested in doing something like this?”
Peffer also emphasized the importance of building community, especially when introducing unfamiliar concepts and technologies around sustainability. “It was through the neighbors, them talking to each other—those trusts and relationships—that’s what made it happen,” she said.