We recently celebrated a major victory for clean air and public health in Barrio Logan. We applaud the City of San Diego Environment Committee, led by David Alvarez, for unanimously passing the Barrio Logan Clean Air and Safe Streets Ordinance.

As it moves through the city review process, allow us to expain to you how this ordinance came to be and why it matters to our community.

A Summary: 

The presence of heavy-duty truck traffic in Barrio Logan has become commonplace in our community and has negatively affected our quality of life for many years. Perkins Elementary School, for example, faces daily exposure to harmful air emissions from diesel trucks, noise and safety concerns. 

EHC recommends adoption of the Barrio Logan Clean Air and Safe Streets Ordinance to ensure that Barrio Logan residents can live, work and play in a safe environment.

Current Conditions:

Current policy to address heavy-duty vehicle traffic in Barrio Logan has been helpful but now warrants an update. Right now, the policy does not prohibit truck traffic on all of the streets necessary, especially near schools, senior residential living centers, and residential uses, nor does it address enforcement through fines and/or penalties. Our community has understood the need to amend this in order to mitigate the ever-increasing volume of heavy-duty vehicle traffic in the region. 

Community Research: 

Boston Avenue between 28th and 32nd Street is zoned as exclusively residential and is the only such zone in Barrio Logan. Residents of Boston Avenue participated in community research by conducting truck surveys, which yielded striking results -- including the documentation of up to 59 heavy-duty vehicles within a two-hour period.

The community research demonstrates the different sources of heavy-duty vehicles entering and exiting through Barrio Logan. Air samples taken during these surveys also indicate spikes in ultra-fine particulate matter -- a chemical found in diesel exhaust that is linked to serious health effects -- as trucks drove by the survey area.

Key Findings from other Port Cities:

• Oakland, Long Beach, and Los Angeles establish truck routes in their municipal codes
• These cities also include an extensive list of prohibited streets
• Truck routes maps are readily available via city website (interactive maps, pdf, etc.)

EHC Recommends:

The Barrio Logan Clean Air and Safe Streets Ordinance will provide ways to mitigate the impacts of diesel exhaust in and around our community, making it a healthier and safer neighborhood for all people to live, work and play.

Trucks serving local businesses are excluded from these recommendations:

• Creation and implementation of a truck route in Barrio Logan
• Amendment of the Commercial Vehicle Prohibition Resolution to include all streets not on the truck route
• Clear path for enforcement including fines and penalties for those violating the truck route

For questions regarding the Barrio Logan Clean Air and Safe Streets Ordinance, please contact Jerry at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

On October 19, 32 participants joined our BarrioLive! tour of Barrio Logan to highlight the environmental justice work we have collectively done. The tour explored past victories as well as the current challenges found in our community, giving guests the opportunity to learn about the issues in Barrio Logan and the more than thirty-year history of EHC's work in the community. Our guests learned about our dedicated Community Action Team Members who have been advocating for ways to improve the health of our community and heard directly from our community leaders about the work that they do to for environmental justice in our neighborhoods.

After the tour, EHC hosted more than 70 people for our mixer, including long time donors and new faces, as well as partners and sponsors Barrio Logan College Institute, San Diego Convention Center, Border X Brewing, and SD Green Drinks. City Councilmember David Alvarez  joined us and awarded a proclamation to long-time community leader Maria Martinez, while her son, Panchito Martinez spoke about his experience growing up in Barrio Logan -- bringing his perspective as a second generation environmental justice advocate. The meaningful relationships we have been able to nurture throughout the years continue to ignite our organization’s passion for this important work. Thank you for being invested in building #healthyhoods -- and we'll see you on the next BarrioLive! 

Barrio Logan is at a crossroads.

Our neighborhood has come far in the fight for environmental justice, yet we remain threatened by industrial pollution and resident displacement. By joining our BarrioLive! tour and making a contribution, you join us in our mission for a safe and healthy neighborhood.

What is BarrioLive?
Our guided neighborhood tour highlights the spirit and struggles of environmental justice in our community. You’ll meet residents and learn about the history, victories and challenges of Barrio Logan, such as:

• The shutdown of Master Plating
• The creation of the Chicano Community Herb Garden and Mural
• The transition of the Port’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal to non-polluting freight technology
• The impacts of discriminatory land use and zoning on the community

When is BarrioLive?
Join us on October 19 for the BarrioLive! Tour followed by a community mixer.

Tour: The tour will begin at 3:30 p.m. at Border X Brewing (2181 Logan Ave, 92113). Parking is tight in this area, but there is a parking lot in Chicano Park, just two blocks away. The tour includes a walking component of close to 20 minutes, so please wear comfortable shoes.

Mixer: The mixer will begin immediately following the tour, going form 5:30-7 p.m. at Border X Brewing. Guests can expect to enjoy vegetarian tacos, small snacks, beer and wine. There is a suggested contribution is $10/person for non-tour guests, and live music will play after 7 p.m. for guests who wish to stay longer. Thank you San Diego Green Drinks for partnering with us for our mixer.

Want to experience our BarrioLive! tour?
Seats are limited and go quickly, so please click here to reserve yours before we sell out.

Tickets are $100 and include the tour, tour packet, EHC water bottle, snacks, mixer admission and food and beverages. Your contribution directly supports our work to build a healthier Barrio Logan from the ground up.

For more information or interest in sponsorship, contact Giuliana Schroeder at 619.773.2132 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We hope you can join us.

At a community meeting in City Heights, we listened as residents expressed how they feel watching our neighborhoods change and rents rise.

“We’re seeing families who have lived here for a long time spend most of their income on rent, without much left for other essentials,” says EHC Associate Director of Policy Carolina Martinez. “We’re finally seeing improvements in City Heights after decades of people going to City Hall to request infrastructure improvements. Unfortunately, the people who will enjoy it are not the people who have been fighting for it for so long.”

One of those leaders fighting against displacement in City Heights is Maria Esparanza.

“I’ve lived in City Heights for 44 years, but we were forced to move when they put a strip mall where my home was,” says Maria. “I’m asking myself if its good or bad, because the community looks good, but they’ve displaced the people who live here.”

To learn more about how to get involved in City Heights, click here.

For a long time, Barrio Logan needed an open space to cultivate community and healthy living. After years of listening to community requests, EHC worked with residents to plant and grow the Chicano Park Herb Garden.

At the root of the garden, our community understands that open spaces are vital to improving the health of our neighborhood. Now, local schools, organizations and residents have a place to experience nature in a hands-on way.

The Chicano Park Herb Garden serves its ultimate purpose as an open space for Barrio Logan families to enjoy and for visitors to appreciate nature. We think that’s a victory for #healthyhoods. For more information on how you can volunteer, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For many years, Maria Martinez has worked with EHC to bring environmental justice to her community of Barrio Logan. Now, her son Francisco has joined her. He recently spoke with KPBS about how his mother has inspired him with her commitment to the right of all people to live in a safe and healthy neighborhood. 

A 19-year old student at San Diego State University, Francisco joined EHC to advocate for a sustainable expansion of the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal in Barrio Logan.  

"Environmental justice, to me, means communities of all backgrounds regardless of status having access to clean air, clean water, fresh produce, open spaces, that will result in healthy families, thriving communities and ultimately a better world," Francisco told KPBS. 

Yesterday, the Port of San Diego adopted a plan to expand the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal in a sustainable way to protect public health and the quality of life for our communities.

More than 500 community members successfully urged The Port to reduce pollution and incorporate community benefits into Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal expansion. Thanks to you, our voices were heard.

Because of your efforts, the official Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal expansion plan now includes:

• Maximum cargo throughput that is 25 percent less than in the original plan
• 36 new pieces of electric cargo handling equipment
• Mandatory equipment that captures and treats smokestack emissions for ships that cannot plug into shore side electricity
• Annual equipment inventory and technology review to identify new opportunities for emission reduction
• A renewable energy project on the terminal, such as solar panels on warehouse buildings, or an equivalent locally approved program for greenhouse gas reductions

Thank you for making our community voice heard. We look forward to working with The Port to support a historic plan that puts environmental justice first.

Dia de los Muertos is a cultural holiday honoring the lives of friends and family who have passed away. The day celebrates the lives of those lost rather than mourns their absence.

On November 2, EHC hosted the annual National City “Calaveritas” event at Paradise Creek Educational Park in the Old Town neighborhood of National City. “Calaveritas” translates to "little skulls." Kids and families decorated these sugar skulls, which are deeply rooted in Mexican tradition.

We created alters with photos, flowers and decorations dedicated to our loved ones who have passed away. Hundreds of homemade sugar skulls and decorative frosting were provided thanks to community organizer Monserrat Hernandez and community leaders Alicia Sanchez and Maria C. Villanueva.

While Port District plans a massive expansion of its operations and diesel emissions from the Tenth Avenue Terminal, the neighboring community of Barrio Logan has been ranked even higher in the newest draft of California’s environmental justice screening model, CalEnviroScreen.

The new draft version three of CalEnviroScreen, released September 6, confirms the pollution hazards and social vulnerabilities in the Barrio Logan/Logan Heights area.

Barrio Logan was already at the very top of the state in version two of CalEnviroScreen – the highest five percent of all 8,000-plus census tracts in the state. The newly released draft version shows diesel hazards a full 15 percentile points higher than previously estimated for this area. Heart attack risk – a new indicator in version three – is also high, given the relatively young age profile of the community. Asthma continues to be a prominent indicator of disadvantage in the community – Barrio Logan and Logan Heights rank even higher on the asthma indicator this time around. This version of CalEnviroScreen also includes unemployment data for Barrio Logan – which the previous version lacked for this area. Unsurprisingly, it’s high.

Another new indicator measures cost of living based on the “rent-adjusted income” – or, the average income households have left after paying rent. Areas with high housing costs and low incomes rank high on this indicator. Barrio Logan is at the 97th percentile – an alarming result that will not surprise anyone struggling with rising rents in the area.

This small community, the historic heart of Chicano art and life in San Diego, is under siege from pollution, high health burdens, high rents and high unemployment. The community needs clean air, affordable housing and good jobs. Barrio Logan children need to be able to play outside. Instead, they may be subjected to a 500 percent increase in emissions and truck traffic from Port operations at the terminal.

Another draft document just out – the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the redevelopment of the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal – indicates the community will not be getting a break anytime soon.

The draft EIR evaluates the impacts of a 500 percent increase in cargo volume coming through the terminal. All this cargo would mean more ships coming, more cranes and forklifts moving cargo, more trucks, more night-time light, more noise, as many as 800 more truck trips a day and a cancer risk estimate of 197 per million – about 20 times more than the level normally considered “significant.” All the extra diesel fuel burning would also generate a huge increase in planet-harming greenhouse gas emissions – a 540 percent increase – not even counting all the emissions generated from ships crossing the ocean to get here.

EHC will be working with community residents and the Port of San Diego to get a better outcome for Barrio Logan. We believe that, at a minimum, the Port must ensure that no net increase in pollution will occur from the redevelopment. Jobs generated from the project must be high quality, and every effort must be made to hire workers from the community. And greenhouse gas emissions must be offset by corresponding decreases on Port property or in the community. Stay tuned for action alerts as the issue moves forward.

Join us on December 13 at 1 p.m. at 3165 Pacific Hwy. to demand the Port be a good neighbor to our communities.

Click here to sign our petition to tell the Port of San Diego to take its plan back to the drawing board.

Joy Williams
Research Director
Environmental Health Coalition

Last month, community members joined us for a walking tour through Old Town National City. Together, we saw firsthand the problems our neighborhood faces and celebrated the progress we're making to find solutions.

We visited the construction site of affordable Paradise Creek apartments near a transit stop and a beautiful park. We walked the improved route to Kimball Elementary School, which has new safety features and no longer neighbors polluting industries across the street.

Thank you for joining us to make National City a beautiful, safe and healthy place we're proud to call our home.

Click here to see more photos of the inspiring community tour.