City In Review: Chicago

Oakland · Then vs Now

Oakland: 2025-02 vs 2026-02

A side-by-side look at how Oakland shifted between two periods.

2025-02 2026-02 Change
Building permits 3 3 0%
Construction value ($) $31,600 $4,280 -86%
New business licenses 0 0
Business closings (proxy) 0 0
311 service requests 124 99 -20%
Reported crimes 50 59 +18%
Violent crimes 12 15 +25%
Failed food inspections 0 0

2025-02

Oakland permit activity drops 85% in February

Oakland issued just three permits in February, down from 11 the month before. The total estimated value fell to $31,600—a drop of 84.9%. One permit went to elevator work, one to a renovation, and one to an express-process job. On the service-request side, things picked up: 124 calls came in, a 32% jump from January. Most of that surge came from tree-trim requests, which logged 56 complaints despite the category's 'no longer being accepted' label. Violent crime ticked down 20%, while overall crime rose modestly.

2026-02

Oakland's 311 calls jump 39%, led by abandoned cars

Oakland fielded 99 service requests in February, up from 71 the month before. Abandoned vehicle complaints led the surge with 15 reports, followed by 11 sanitation code violations and nine streetlight outages. Crime ticked up 20% to 59 incidents, though violent offenses dipped slightly to 15. Permit activity was light—three permits totaling $4,280, down from $24,000 in January. Two were express permits; one was for signage. No new businesses opened or closed.