About

What is EcoBlock?

EcoBlock provides a set of strategies to improve quality of life for all members of a neighborhood through improved resilience and sustainability. Communities can choose the most appropriate solutions based on their interests, timeline, resources, and local context.

Circular diagram illustrating EcoBlock’s integrated strategies for community, sustainability, decarbonization, and finance.
The EcoBlock portfolio of strategies, with four goals (community, sustainability, decarbonization, and finance) and different options for home- and block-level retrofits. Credit: Oakland EcoBlock

Project Conception

Aerial view of an urban neighborhood with nine residential blocks outlined in red on the left and 180 homes outlined in red on the right. Text reads: EcoBlock Projects. Individual Projects.
Unlike the individual, house-by-house approach, aggregated block-level retrofits offer economies of scale that can serve as a valuable model for decarbonization. Credit: Siegel & Strain Architects

The idea of an “eco-block” stems from a comprehensive vision of neighborhood sustainability—one where self-sufficient communities generate renewable energy, recycle and reuse all water and waste, enable carbon-free transportation, and cultivate their own food. The EcoBlock concept was first developed by Harrison Fraker, Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Design at UC Berkeley, as part of an urban design studio in 2005. In the course, students developed principles and prototypes for high-density, transit-oriented developments in China based on a triple net-zero approach toward water, energy, and carbon neutrality.

Over the years, EcoBlock has shifted its focus from new construction to existing buildings. Buildings consume about half the energy used in the US. Getting all buildings to net zero emissions is a critical task for climate change mitigation, but new building construction creates significant new emissions—typically two to four times more than renovations—and house-by-house retrofits are too slow.

The EcoBlock concept recognizes the neighborhood block as a common unit of organization in urban and suburban America—in fact, most cities in the world. Blocks come in different sizes and shapes, but the basic block structure appears in all places with moderate to high population density. EcoBlock aims to harness this structure to make clean energy more affordable for communities in California and beyond.

Oakland EcoBlock

The Oakland EcoBlock pilot research project aims to demonstrate the technical, social, legal, and financial strategies for radically decarbonizing cities through neighborhood block-scale retrofitting. The project is led by the California Institute for Energy and Environment, based at CITRIS and the Banatao Institute at UC Berkeley, and primarily funded by the California Energy Commission to support California’s legal mandates.

Project Goals:

  • Provide affordable access to solar, energy, and water-efficient upgrades
  • Improve indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and energy resilience
  • Rapidly reduce greenhouse gases
  • Strengthen community
  • Develop a scalable template for block-size retrofits

Unique Features:

  • Retrofits of older, 1-4-unit urban housing units
  • Shared rooftop solar
  • Stormwater mitigation and street planting
  • Community ownership through a non-profit Association
  • Design for a shared curbside electric vehicle (EV) charger
  • Design for a shared solar microgrid governed by California’s utility regulations

Phase 1: Preliminary Research & Design (2016-2018)

In 2015, the CEC released a solicitation through the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program, which invests in scientific and technological research to accelerate the transformation of the electricity sector to meet the state’s energy and climate goals. The purpose of the solicitation was to fund a design-build competition that challenged multidisciplinary teams to prototype innovative and replicable solutions for deploying Advanced Energy Communities. The Oakland EcoBlock was one of 13 projects that received a Phase 1 grant, which supported preliminary research and design efforts. Read the EcoBlock CEC Phase 1 final report (PDF).

Phase 2: Implementation (2019-Present)

Map showing the California Energy Commission’s EPIC Grant Award Recipients located in Richmond, Oakland, Lancaster, and the San Gabriel Valley.
A map of the Phase 2 EPIC grant award recipients. Credit: Page Southerland Page

The Oakland EcoBlock is one of four projects that received a Phase 2 implementation grant from the CEC. In this phase, a custom subset of the original EcoBlock plan is being implemented, with project completion expected in 2026.

Timeline

October 2019
Invite neighbors to self-nominate
January-April 2020
Recruit and select pilot EcoBlock
EcoBlock Logo
February 2020
Start designing community microgrid
March 2020
COVID-19 lockdown

California goes into lockdown due to the pandemic. Project delayed.

August 2020
Kickoff meeting with EcoBlock community
Community members listening to researchers present scientific concepts illustrated on large posters
September 2020
Home energy assessments begin
A group of people inspecting residential energy systems
July 2021
Community Association incorporated

Incorporate EcoBlock Community Association as a non-profit mutual benefit corporation

July-August 2021
Stormwater facility chosen

Participants unanimously choose stormwater bioretention facility design through a vote-by-mutual consent process

September 2021-January 2023
Shared battery storage structure designed

For the community microgrid 

October 2021
CPUC approves EcoBlock in CMET

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approves PG&E’s request for the Community Microgrid Enablement Tariff (CMET) to include EcoBlock

October 2021
Community laundry-to-landscape workshop
September 2021-June 2022
Community association recruitment
A ring of solar-powered homes with people waving their hands in the air

Recruit 14 homeowners representing 25 units (24 residential, 1 commercial) to join the EcoBlock Community Association. Image credit: People Power Solar Cooperative

December 2022
EPA grant received

Receive US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant to support stormwater mitigation and street landscaping work

June 2023
Community microgrid engineered

PG&E completes the engineering portion of the community microgrid design. The construction of the microgrid is put on hold due to inflation and unexpected project delays.

July 2023
Electric service upgrade

PG&E decides to conduct a complete electric service upgrade for the block. Project delayed by 14 months.

August 2023
Phased retrofits begin
An HVAC technician installing ductwork in a residential crawlspace

Start phased home performance and electrification retrofits. While PG&E worked on service upgrades, contractor was able to conduct some limited work.

December 2023
Rooftop solar installations begin
Rooftop solar panels
April-August 2024
Electric service upgrades conducted
A residential utility pole with a transformer and overhead distribution lines

PG&E conducts blockwide electric service upgrades

September 2024
Start roofing for select homes
Roofers reroofing a two-story home
September-November 2024
Bioretention facility constructed
A block-end stormwater bioretention facility with seedlings next to a chain link fence with foliage

Construct end-of-block bioretention facility to treat, detain, and retain stormwater before it enters the adjacent creek

September 2024-March 2025
Sidewalk planting
Neighbors planting a tree sapling

Remove concrete and plant trees in sidewalk planting strips. Add mulch to stormwater bioretention facility and sidewalk planting strips.

Fall 2025
Finish retrofits
ecoblock neighborhood cross-section

Complete in-home retrofits and rooftop solar installations

Winter 2025-Winter 2026
Evaluation and lessons learned
Cover of the Oakland EcoBlock Guidebook with an aerial view of a residential urban block

Evaluate performance of retrofits and share lessons learned through the EcoBlock Guidebook