On a recent Friday at the Old Oakland Farmers’ Market, one stall kept people lingering for longer than usual among the rows of vendors offering produce and food. At a table decorated with a large zoning map and a wooden outline of Oakland’s skyscrapers, those who stopped weren’t there to buy but to share their opinion about the state of downtown. The Oaklandside is partnering with Oakland North and Oakland Lowdown to examine what’s working well and what isn’t for people in our urban center. Read more. One market-goer talked about the need for more parking passes for people who live in Old Oakland. Another advocated for keeping Washington Street closed to traffic between 8th and 9th streets. Several discussed the need to support Oakland’s downtown restaurants and preserve its historic architecture.  The conversations were part of a journalism collaboration between The Oaklandside, the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism’s Oakland …