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The walking neighborhoods that characterized cities into the 1940s were killed by car culture and the many externalities associated with it, including automobile-driven urban and suburban sprawl.

We at the Hayward Area Planning Association believe that the future of housing development must be sustainable Walkable Neighborhood Systems (WNSs) similar to how cities naturally developed before the increase in use of cars and car-based zoning. Walkable Neighborhood Systems include the businesses and services that meet the needs of people everyday – the coffee shop, local market, etc. We advocate affordable, frequent people-centered design, transit, and options that make non-ownership of a car not only possible, but preferable.

Additionally, we believe that nieghborhood construction and design moving forward must be environmentally conscious.

College Heights is proposed to be a model for an affordable, sustainable replacement for suburbia – a Walkable Neighborhood System based on research of what WNSs could be and how they can operate. The mutual goals of sustainability and walkability make it the ideal housing development concept for the present and the future.

The Rebirth of the Walking Neighborhood Killed by the Car

College Heights is a proposed walkable community on a former quarry currently owned by the City of Hayward. As proposed, the project will have 732 condominiums and townhouses designed to provide a healthy, safe, affordable place to live while lowering dependence on privately owned cars. The WNS design allows substantially more development per acre than typical suburban designs, and is possible because of the potential for the use of “non-private auto modes” of transportation to reach the nearby CSUEB campus, transit to downtown Hayward, and BART for the four markets College Heights is intended to serve. As of May, 2024, City policy support of this development is in place.

College Heights’ car-free residential area is designed with very limited private car parking – less than one space per housing unit. It features small parks and walkways that lead from the residences to the Village Center.

The Village Center will include a community center, bus-way, bike repair station, ride-share pick-up/drop-off area, Village Square, small store and café with a view of the Bay.

The Community Center will offer conveniences like an ATM, HOA business office, meeting room, usable office space, fitness center, and library. Groceries will be within easy walking distance at The Corner Store, or by delivery to the Community Center, or home – if there is a high demand for home food-delivery services such as Instacart, Door Dash, etc., the HOA will determine some sort of logical system.

The Village Van could be coordinated for large shopping trips, furniture delivery, etc.

The Village Bus will provide free, frequent, and fast service for residents, reaching the CSUEB campus in two minutes and downtown Hayward and the BART station in six minutes.