Located in San Diego County’s second oldest city, Old Town National City remains a primarily low-income Latino neighborhood with evolving surroundings. Over the past 50 years, the community has changed from a mainly residential neighborhood to a mixture of auto-related businesses located around schools and homes. Auto-body shops in residential neighborhoods burden the health of the community by emitting toxic pollution into the air we breathe.

In 2005, our community decided to combat conflicting land use and bring health back to the community with a vision for a vibrant and toxic-free neighborhood. Our plans included affordable housing within walking distance of a transit center, construction that wouldn’t damage Paradise Creek and a healthy community park to replace polluted grounds.

After 11 years, the community’s vision has become a reality. Today, if you walk by the 24th blue line trolley station on 22nd street in National City, you will see 201 affordable Paradise Creek Apartment Homes under construction by Community Housing Works and Related California. Most recently, the project was awarded $9.2 million by the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Grant through California’s Cap-and-Trade program, which you can learn more about here. The first phase of construction will be completed in 2016 and 109 families will move into homes in December 2016.

This project, spearheaded by the community voice, has received recognition across the country including a national award from the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Most importantly, the Paradise Creek Apartments set a precedent for low-income communities nationwide. National City neighbors identified the community’s needs and remained involved every step of the way.

Now, it’s your turn. Learn to become a leader in your community and make your voice heard to build a better environment to live, work and play in, because everyone deserves a healthy neighborhood.

By: Carolina Martinez, policy advocate at Environmental Health Coalition

As part of a master plan for developing the Chula Vista Bayfront, the Port of San Diego recently approved the Chula Vista Natural Resources Management Plan. This is the latest milestone in a community planning process that has been ongoing for at least two decades.

The plan is intended to protect and enhance fish and wildlife populations and habitats through environmental protection measures applicable to all development within the Chula Vista Bayfront project area.

Laura Hunter, longtime EHC policy advocate, served as chair of the wildlife advisory group that sheparded the plan to completion.

“This is a historic agreement for the region that will guide us as we seek to improve the Chula Vista Bayfront with more recreation and economic opportunity while protecting the birds, fish, plants and animals that live here and that people love so much," she said.

Ash Israni, chairman of Pacific Companies and one of the major developers for the Bayfront Project, agreed. “It’s amazing to be in the position once again to speak in support of an element of a plan that began as a large scale development proposal with powerful public opposition," he commented. "This is now a model for collaboration and conflict resolution."

After decades of work, this victory is a tremendous step toward protecting the environmental health of the Chula Vista Bayfront, and all the plants, animals and wildlife that depend on it.

On April 14, 2016, the Port of San Diego unanimously voted to approve a new plan for National City Terminal – including the 2.5-acre expansion of Pepper Park.

The new plan resulted from unprecedented compromises between the City of National City, the Port of San Diego and community members. It was EHC’s policy advocate, Carolina Martinez, who opened the Port’s eyes to an inconvenient truth - the public amenities sought by the City for the bayfront were not what the residents of National City needed.

The City prizes hotels, restaurants, marinas and other tourist-serving commercial businesses that bring in revenue. While National City needs revenue, not many National City residents own boats, stay in hotels on their own waterfront or eat at pricey restaurants.

What residents do need is open, public park space where kids can play. A level, grassy area for pick-up softball and soccer games. Perhaps even a water feature – given that the bay itself and Sweetwater Channel are not safe or accessible for swimming.

Carolina and National City residents like Margarita Garcia, Leonor Garcia and Lorena Chavez impressed the Port with these realities. It responded by creating several options for redevelopment of the terminal that included more park space. Residents turned out to Port-led workshops in January of 2016 to advocate for the configurations that produced contiguous, usable park space. The new plan will provide 2.5 more acres for exactly these kinds of uses.

The decision to expand Pepper Park is a win for public participation, public health and environmental justice. EHC members from National City have fought for years for this greatly needed community improvement. This victory belongs to them.

Yesterday, National City broke ground on 201 Paradise Creek affordable housing units. This development, nationally recognized for being transit-oriented and sustainable, is a perfect example of what can happen when residents come together and get involved in the planning of their communities.

Thank you to the City of National City and the developers, Related and Community Housing Works, as well as the many other partners and people that came together to make the community's vision a reality. 

To learn more about what this development means to the community, please click here. For more information on National City, please click here. 

Our annual BarrioLive! tour and mixer brought together community members and local leaders who care about #healthyhoods. The guided bus tour showed participants the problems, solutions and progress in our communities first hand.

We stopped in Old Town National City at Kimball Elementary; the school located near two of the most polluting businesses in the the community. Today, the businesses have relocated safely away from homes and schools and the children of National City breathe cleaner air when they walk to school and play outside at recess.

We made another important stop in Old Town National City at Paradise Creek. After ten years, on November 17, 2015, the Paradise Creek Affordable Housing Units finally broke ground. These units, once completed, will be the first transit-oriented, sustainability award winning affordable housing development in the community.

For our last stop, we visited Chicano Park in the heart of Barrio Logan. Residents in the community have turned space underneath the freeways into an artistic expression of the community's history. Today, the park is home to vibrant murals representative of Barrio Logan's rich culture and has been recorded in the National Register of Historic Places.

The tour ended at Border X Brewing where we enjoyed appetizers, craft beer and friends new and old. 

Thank you to everyone who attended BarrioLive! We feel grateful to know and work with people who as enthusiastic about climate justice and #healthyhoods for all as you.

On November 17, 2015, Old Town National City will break ground on the city's first transit-oriented affordable housing development: The Paradise Creek Apartment Homes.

We spoke with National City community members about what this momentous groundbreaking means to them. From better living conditions to a symbol of hope, this development means much more than just another building. 

"Paradise Creek provides a big opportunity for stabilty in my family and a huge wellness project for the community."

"For me, the Paradise Creek Apartments are like a dream come true. I have been participating in this project since it was an idea. For my family and I, the apartments represent our hope for quality of life and a better home."

"In my community in National City, the homes are in really bad shape. The Paradise Creek Apartments are an opportunity for my neighbors to live in better conditions."

"The Paradise Creek Apartments are an $80 million project. This demonstrates that nothing is impossible. We, the residents, can continue to fight to improve our community."

"The Paradise Creek Apartments are a huge accomplishment for National City residents. Those of us who work in National City will have a better quality of life."

"The Paradise Creek Apartments are really important to me. We have a lot of low income families in National City and I believe that they deserve to live in better conditions."

National City has long struggled with polluting businesses operating next to homes and schools - emitting toxins that poison our air and make our children sick. National City is home to 32 million pounds of hazardous substances and 870,000 cubic feet of toxic or hazardous gases. In comparison, La Jolla has 3.8 million pounds of hazardous gases. National City asthma hospitalization rates are nearly double the county average.

The community worked to approve its Westside Specific Plan in 2010, a new plan to address the impact of polluting businesses operating too close to homes and schools in the neighborhood. On November 5, 2013, National City Council called for the gradual phase out of two businesses near Kimball Elementary School- Jose’s Auto Electric and Steve’s West Coast Automotive. Today, November 5, 2015, these businesses have relocated safely away from homes and schools.

Today, the children of National City can breathe cleaner air.

We believe that no one is more entitled to determine the future of a community than the people who live there. Residents of National City have worked for decades to build #healthyhoods for their families, and the relocation of these two businesses represents a momentous victory for the neighborhood and a tremendous step toward public health and environmental justice.

Old Town residents from National City are excited to work with the Port of San Diego to expand Pepper Park, the only public park in the area. Pepper Park currently represents less than two percent of the National City Marine Terminal and on Wednesday, September 23, residents proposed expanding the park by two acres to create more space for children and the community to play.

National City and the Port of San Diego have worked extensively to get us closer to a new vision for this precious park. Residents from Old Town National City have been participating in the planning process since 2010 and want to ensure that new vision will also provide meaningful public amenities beneficial to everyone, and on September 23 we achieved our goal of expanding the park by up to three acres.

Residents hoped to see Pepper Park grow enough to include a big enough area for pick-up games, just like the area in Cesar Chavez Park, and water fountains similar to those at the Waterfront Park in front of the San Diego County Administration Building. Residents wanted to ensure that open space available for public, active recreation opportunities isn’t compromised as maritime and tourism grow. 

Now, we look forward to an active and playful future for children of Old Town National City.

Thank you for helping us build #healthyhoods. 

Carolina Martinez

Policy Advocate

City Heights and National City are diverse, low income communities in the San Diego/Tijuana region of Southern California, with residents that include refugees and immigrants from over 60 countries. It is a region that is facing the impacts of climate change, including wildfires, heat waves, and water issues, and in some communities, air pollution and higher asthma rates.

The Environmental Health Coalition (EHC) works in the region to address environmental justice issues, and partnered with La Maestra Community Health Centers on a Creating a Climate for Health pilot project funded by the Public Health Institute. EHC built upon its “deep energy education” model to train La Maestra clinic staff and Promotores about the connections between climate change and health. EHC provided materials to help Promotores and staff communicate with patients about the connections, and it laid the groundwork to link both clinic personnel and patients/community members to opportunities to influence and advocate for San Diego’s Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Plan (CMAP). You can read more about this partnership on our brochure here. 

The EHC “deep education” approach starts by working from the concerns immediately relevant to community members, and showing how their actions make a difference for their families while also making a difference for the planet. In the case of energy, for example, Promotores showed families how they could save money by reducing their energy usage, teaching them to track kilowatts, turn lights off and change out light bulbs. Families saw immediate savings, while also knowing they were reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause “calentamiento global” [global warming]. “We put it like this to the communities we work with,” said EHC Campaign Director Leticia Ayala, “Do we want to do something? Or do we want to do nothing?”

Recently, the governor took a step forward in reducing pollution from California's freight system. This important step will reduce the emissions from the ships, cranes, trucks and trains that harm our communities with dirty air and toxic pollution. With this action, the governor ordered seven state agencies to work on projects and plans that transition toward zero-emission technologies. The governor’s order brings hope to communities such as Barrio Logan and west National City that stand most directly in harm’s way from freight diesel impacts.

In our region, and many others around the state, the most impacted communities are those that benefit the least from the global economy and the relentless flow of “goods” through them. Year after year, the Barrio Logan area leads the region in rates of children’s visits to emergency rooms for asthma – a condition known to be aggravated and possibly caused by proximity to traffic pollution.

We applaud the governor for his support for aggressive action to advance the development of zero-emission technologies. Only by eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels can we sustain economic vitality and also meet California’s climate goals and protect our communities from the many health-damaging effects of exposure to diesel.

Joy Williams
Research Director
Environmental Health Coalition