COMMUNITY ACTIVISM IN OAK PARK: COMPETING AGENDAS ...

people living outside the neighborhood; place of work is normally outside of the
neighborhood and are used by most people with varying frequencies.” Routine
participation in community organizations by the middle-class and the varying survival
strategies of low-income residents are formed in relation to the environment of their
neighborhood. Lawrence and Low (1990:454) explain that relationships between society
and culture and the built environment are interactive in that people both create and find
their behavior influenced by, the built environment. In a neighborhood such as Oak Park,
urban renewal and the pressures of gentrification are major factors that shape the beliefs
and daily strategies of residents.
The neighborhood of Oak Park in Sacramento is inhabited by a culturally diverse
population with deep historical roots. The ethnic make-up of the neighborhood consists
primarily of immigrants of various ethnicities such as Latinos and African-American
residents. There are also many Caucasian residents who live in Oak Park. In one day of
venturing out into the neighborhood, a person can come across a homeless man walking
his dog and pushing a grocery basket down the street, see Hmong children playing
hopscotch on a driveway, pass by African-American children riding bikes in front of
Starbuck’s coffee shop, drive past a Rastafarian mowing a lawn and older African-
American males barbequing in their front yard, and walk past a Caucasian resident
throwing out the trash. During the day, the neighborhood is a colorful collage of
bicycles, newer and older dilapidated cars, people walking down the street, and people
sitting on couches in their front porch. At any time a person can sit and drink coffee in
Starbuck’s while hearing Stevie Wonder playing in the background. Pedestrian traffic is
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