I didn’t grow up in Berkeley. I was born and raised one town over in Oakland, California. But I did spend enough time near Strawberry Canyon growing up that I knew instantly when I read the headline, “UC Berkeley to build student, homeless housing at People’s Park,” that construction was never going to happen.

Sure, to a reasonable person, the project made total sense. The three-quarter block patch of dirt, grass, and trees just a block off Telegraph Avenue had always emitted a unique aroma of urine and marijuana, but in recent years, it had become an often-violent permanent encampment for the homeless too.