Uptown is the keystone of Mayor Jerry Brown's 10K plan - a New Urbanist planning effort intended to attract 10,000 residents into Oakland's downtown core. After years of organizing, protests, policy advocacy and community design work, affordable housing advocates won concessions on the project: 210 affordable units to serve a range of incomes from 30 to 50 percent of the area median income (AMI). This article describes how community activists have worked to shape the redevelopment of Oakland's downtown.