• Berkeley “City Beautiful” movement
• Strawberry Creek, an historic natural feature
• Design with nature for the 21^st century

Berkeley “City Beautiful” movement in the early 1900s

The movement to design with nature in Berkeley caught on after 1901, as the international Arts and Crafts style, shingle style, City Beautiful movement, and Asian influences were taken up by local artists and architects. Women could not vote, but they could influence, and in 1898 a group of women formed the Hillside Club, advocating simple design, building with nature, streets that followed contours of the land, and paths for walking. The straight grid of older streets was replaced by curves that followed contours; pedestrian paths were required. Other influential voices (some of them in the club) included Joseph Worcester, architect who was influential in starting the local shingle style and praising "building with nature,” landscape painter William Keith, Charles Keeler, John Galen Howard, Ernest Coxhead, and Bernard Maybeck. Adapted from the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association website.

North Berkeley home on a pedestrian street designed by Henry Gutterson and Bernard Maybeck.

Strawberry Creek—an historic natural feature

Strawberry Creek is one of the two major creek systems in Berkeley, and runs from Strawberry Canyon in the hills, to the San Francisco Bay. The creek was named for the wild strawberries that once lined its banks. It moves from predominantly protected natural conditions in its upper reaches through downtown Berkeley, where it enters both above-ground and underground culverts for most of its remaining reach to the Bay.  Interestingly, Strawberry Creek plays a significant role in Berkeley’s early years. The evolution of the UC Berkeley campus goes back to the first decision to site the campus near Strawberry Creek as a source of fresh water. In 1866, several years later, the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted was commissioned to generate a comprehensive study for the campus. Olmsted’s plan envisioned a picturesque park-like campus, stemming from his belief that the natural order of landscapes serve a moral purpose in society and would be well-regarded by the Trustees. The plan included a major east-west axis aligned with the Golden Gate and campus grounds framed by the north and south forks of Strawberry Creek. Olmsted introduced adaptable tree species to 'forest' the open land.

Historic Strawberry Creek on UCB campus.

The north and south forks flow together by the Eucalyptus Grove on the UCB campus, and throughout its length on campus the creek environments support diverse species of trees and a variety of flora and fauna. A distinctive feature of the UCB landscape, the creek also plays a role in education, with thousands of students taking classes that involve a study of the creek's ecosystem. Once neglected, Strawberry Creek on campus has made an impressive comeback in recent years, in part due to a fish and insect restoration program developed by campus scientists and coordinated by the UCB Office of Environment, Health, and Safety. 

A blending of town and gown, featuring “Design With Nature” for the 21^st century

For years, a tension has existed on the border between Town and Gown. The campus has remained a jewelbox on the hill, but at the same time, UC buildings have been spreading into the city as the institution responds to demands for growth. New cooperatively planned developments could benefit both Town and Gown, especially if plans are sensitive to Berkeley’s historic past and demonstrative creative “green” solutions and building practices, and design with nature.  A daylighted Strawberry Creek as the focal point of a pedestrian plaza, along with “green” buildings with roof gardens and mixed uses could demonstrate a cooperative venture that builds our community and showcases a world-class “green” downtown project. In addition, the proposed daylighting is an essential step in fulfilling a long-standing goal of the City of Berkeley to daylight and restore Strawberry Creek to the fullest extent possible, and to integrate it as a natural element in the urban environment.