Southside, Berkeley, California - Today

Today

The boundaries of Southside extend roughly from Bancroft Way to the north to Dwight Way to the south, east of Fulton Street and west of Panoramic Hill. In the 2000 US Census, the neighborhood had a population density of approximately 30,000 people per square mile, making it the most densely populated neighborhood in Berkeley. The neighborhood had a median age of 21 years, lower than every other neighborhood in the area, reflecting the dominant student population. The intersection of Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue serves as the primary gateway to UC Berkeley, and Telegraph is a major pedestrian thoroughfare as well as a shopping area, with sidewalk vendors and stores catering mainly to students and out-of-town visitors. Durant Avenue east of Telegraph has many cheap restaurants, many of them Asian, earning it the nickname "the Asian Ghetto" among Berkeley students. Fraternities and sororities are clustered in the eastern end of the neighborhood around Piedmont Avenue, which has become known as "Frat row".

During the fall of 2010, the Berkeley Student Food Collective opened after many protests on the UC Berkeley campus due to the proposed opening of the fast food chain Panda Express. Students and community members worked together to open a collectively-run grocery store right off of the UC Berkeley campus, where the community can buy local, seasonal, humane, and organic foods at prices that everyone can afford. The Berkeley Student Food Collective still runs to this day at 2440 Bancroft Way.