A West Side Story

1
A West Side Story
Top-left Image from www.oaklandish.com
Koji M Tessien URBS/GEOG 515 Race, Poverty, and
the Environment Professor Raquel Pinderhughes,
Urban Studies Environmental Studies Programs,
San Francisco State University SPRING 2004 Public
has permission to use the material herein, but
only if author, course, university, and professor
are credited.
2
This presentation focuses on environmental
justice in West Oakland. It is designed to teach
those who know little or nothing about West
Oakland and give one specific example of an area
exposed to pollution. It analyzes and
describes the origins of this neighborhood,
paying particular attention to the social,
environmental and public health impacts of the
processes associated with living in West Oakland.
Picture from West Oakland Commerce Association
3
Looking South of I-580 _at_ I-880
West Oakland View from Bay Bridge Toll Plaza
Looking South of I-580 _at_ I-880
We can start by analyzing Oaklands history
to see that West Oakland was naturally a major
crossing point that evolved into a major shipping
and receiving industry. We then will look
into the environmental factors associated with
this area, noticing which air pollutants are most
prevalent. This is followed by analysis of
the specific air pollutants and the health
effects and risks of those who are constantly
exposed to them. We will conclude by looking
at what has been and is being done to combat the
forces of commerce and pollution here in West
Oakland, and lastly we will try to see what the
near future holds for its residents. I will
tell a West Oakland story
Highways I-980 I-880
Looking West of I-980 Freeway
Pictures from West Oakland Commerce Association
4
If California ever becomes a prosperous country,
this bay will be the centre of its prosperity.
The abundance of wood and water the extreme
fertility of its shores the excellence of its
climate, which is as near to being perfect as any
in the world and its facilities for navigation,
affording the best anchoring-grounds in the whole
western coast of Americaall fit it for a place
of great importance. Richard Henry Dana Two
Years Before the Mast, 1840
Image from http//users.snowcrest.net/marnells/oa
kpier.htm
5

• Oakland and the East Bay was originally inhabited
  by the Ohlone tribe before the era of Spanish,
  and then Mexican rule.
• Luis Maria Peralta owned the land that
  encompasses Oakland and much of the East Bay, and
  his life demarcates the transition from colony to
  statehood (1759-1851).
• During the height of the California Gold Rush,
  the town of Oakland was incorporated on May 4,
  1852.
• The transcontinental railroad was completed in
  1869. Oakland was the final stop before boarding
  a ferry to San Francisco. This was a driving
  force in Oaklands transformation as a major
  commercial and industrial hub.
• With the end of slavery and Jim Crow laws
  enacted, some Black Americans move to Oakland in
  search for jobs and opportunities connected to
  the railroad and service industries such as
  Pullman porters, waiters, and hotel Services.
• World Wars I II led to shortages in
  manufacturing jobs, which led to higher paying
  opportunities for Black Americans. From
  1940-1945, the Black population grew from less
  than three percent to 12.4 percent of Oaklands
  population.

Above Washington Street
Bottom Western Pacific Railroad Employee
Images from Oakland Public Library Oakland
History Room
6

• This is not to go without saying that they still
  experienced many forms of prejudice and racism,
  but they did get the chance to establish a
  relatively stable community.
• An example of this racism is found in this
  excerpt from an editorial in a weekly Oakland
  magazine dated March 11, 1944, The Observer
• Thus we see, in Oakland, white women taxicab
  drivers serving negro passengers, and white women
  waitresses serving Negroes in white mens
  restaurants. If that is not a potential source
  of trouble, we do not know what is
• But the trouble is that the Negro newcomer does
  not concede that the white man has the right to
  be alone with his kind. If the white man does
  not want the Negro sitting alongside him in the
  white mans restaurant, or does not want the
  association of the Negro anywhere else, this may
  attributed to race prejudice. Yet, in final
  analysis, the white man has the right of race
  prejudice if he so desires. If he does not care
  to associate with anyone, he is not compelled to
  do so.
• Right there is where the Negro is making his
  big mistake. He is butting into the white
  civilization instead of keeping in the perfectly
  orderly and convenient Negro civilization of
  Oakland, and he is getting himself thoroughly
  disliked.
• It might be well for the more orderly and
  respectable Negroes to tell the newcomers about
  the facts of life. Otherwise we are going to
  have some more riots.

7
Above Picture Oaklands first Pullman Porters
Union, From the African American Museum and
Library in Oakland Left Picture Possibly
1930s, From the AAMLO
8

• Blacks were often given the least desirable jobs
  such as the graveyard shift, still there was
  resentment because they were the most visible
  compared the influx of Italian, Irish, and
  Germans who sought the same jobs.
• Yet they had established a neighborhood in what
  is now known as West Oakland.
• Before the 1950s, West Oakland became a solid
  middle-class African-American community,
  featuring well-preserved Victorian homes and
  attractive shopping, cultural, and entertainment
  districts.
• After the wartime economy ended, job demand in
  Oakland decreased as shipbuilding slows and
  industries move elsewhere in search of cheaper
  taxes.
• Federal Renewal Projects of the 1950s led to the
  fracturing of the West Oakland community. The
  Cypress Freeway is completed in 1957, dividing
  the neighborhood of West Oakland in two.

Bottom Image Caltrans Top Image
www.navsource.com
9
A Few Quick Statistics

• Today, there are nearly 400,000 people living in
  Oakland.
• 142,460 are black, making up 35 of the
  population and the largest plurality of races.
• There is no majority in Oakland.
• 19,684 people live in West Oakland
• 64 of West Oaklands population is Black, 16
  Latinos, 9 Asian Pacific Islander, 7 Whites,
  4 Multi-racial, and less than 1 Native
  American.
• West Oakland Latino population grew by 85 from
  1990 to 2000.
• 71 of West Oakland Residents make less than
  30,000 per year, compared to 28 in Alameda
  County as a whole.

10
Picture from www.ccrma-stanford.edu/mortimer
11

• Many industries exist in West Oakland. Most of
  them seem to be tied to transporting many of the
  goods that get exported and imported, and
  distributed around the country.
• Oakland continues to be a major point for
  railroads.
• The Port of Oakland has expanded to become a
  major point on the Pacific Rim.
• These industries both rely heavily on trailer
  trucks, which rely on the power of diesel.
• Oakland is an ideal site for any type of
  industrial facility due to its proximity to
  transportation lines.
• The neighborhood of West Oakland is demarcated by
  three of the busiest freeways in the Bay Area,
  Highways I-980, I-880, and I-580/I-80, all which
  connect San Francisco with most of the East Bay.

12

• The Port of Oakland is a 140-acre peninsula that
  extends into the San Francisco Bay
• Between 1965-1971, dredged material was filled to
  an area bordered by a dike from the former
  terminus of the Southern Pacific Mole.
• It became the largest facility for container
  shipping on the west coast, home to three major
  terminals.
• It is no longer the largest container facility on
  the West coast, however it remains the Bay Areas
  most important facility for handling containers.

1935
1968
2000
Images from Smithsonian National Museum of
American History
13
Map from Oakland Harbor Navigation Improvement
Project
14
Table 2-2. A conservative total estimate for DPM
emissions in West Oakland.
DPM stands for Diesel Particulate Matter
Source Pacific Institute, West Oakland Diesel
Emission Inventory and Air Quality Monitoring
Study

• Note that ships in West Oakland are amongst the
  largest emitters of diesel particulate matter.
• Each of these sources are somehow connected with
  at least one other source For example, the
  trains and cargo operations will often be linked
  to goods coming to and from overseas.
• In other words, most of these emissions are
  port-related.

15
A little more on Diesel Particulate Matter
16
Table 2-2. A conservative total estimate for DPM
emissions in West Oakland.
DPM stands for Diesel Particulate Matter
Source Pacific Institute, West Oakland Diesel
Emission Inventory and Air Quality Monitoring
Study

• Diesel Trucks account for nearly 500 pounds
  (about 70 of total) of particulate matter per
  day.
• These trucks drive on the three major highways
  surrounding West Oakland, and through
  neighborhood streets both undesignated and
  designated for diesel engines.
• Often, much of the pollution is simply caused by
  trucks idling waiting in line for fueling,
  loading and reloading.

17
Above Images from Kite Aerial Photography
Bottom Right www.mistersf.com
Bottom Left www.leefoster.com
The Port of Oakland is posed to double in size by
2020.
18

• There are approximately 10,000 truck trips per
  day through West Oakland
• This number is expected to double by 2020.
• So now we must ask, how has all of this affected
  the residents of West Oakland? What are the
  impacts of living near a major transportation hub
  in California?

Image taken by K M Tessien
Image from www.help-for-you.com
19

• As this map goes to show, West Oakland is
  littered with areas of toxic and hazardous
  material facilities.
• The pink area represents residential zones, grey
  represent industrial zones, yellow are schools,
  and green are the parks.
• Blue stars represent Hazardous material storage,
  the ones outlined are classified as high risk.
• Purple circles outlined in black are
  Superfund/Cal-EPA Cleanup sites, no outline
  represents leaking underground tanks.

Image from www.toxicspot.com
20
Health Effects of Diesel

• Diesel engines emit high levels of Nitrogen
  oxides and particulate matter, many of which are
  known cancer causing agents
• Diesel exhaust is a significant contributor to
  airborne levels of a number of hazardous air
  pollutants such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde.
• Diesel exhaust has been linked to premature
  deaths from cardiovascular diseases and
  respiratory illnesses,
• Several national and international organizations
  had designated diesel exhaust as a probable
  human carcinogen.
• (Source Connecticut Department of Environmental
  Protection)

Image from the Port of Oakland
21
A Closer Look at West Oakland Health Statistics

• West Oakland is exposed to five times more
  toxics, mostly from air pollution, than any other
  Oakland resident.
• Ten percent of sensitive sites, like schools,
  hospitals, and homeless shelters are within 1/8
  of a mile of industrial facilities at high risk
  for chemical accidents.
• About 83 of West Oakland residents live within
  660 feet of at least one of the 403 contaminated
  sites identified in the different database in
  West Oakland.
• West Oakland is 10 of the area of Oakland, yet
  is had 20 of the total number of identified
  contaminated sites
• (Source Pacific Institute)

Image from www.business2oakland.com
22
Leading Causes of Hospitalization by
Race/Ethnicity (3-year average, 1996-1998), Zip
Code 94607 Source Alameda County Public Health
Department
23
Age-Adjusted Rates of Asthma Hospitalization
Children Age 14 and Under 1996-1998 Three-Year
Average
Source Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development
24
Overall Age-Adjusted Death Rate West Oakland and
Alameda County 1996-1998 (3-Year Average)
Leading Causes of Death in West Oakland,
1996-1998 (Total 3-Year Deaths564)

• Here we can see that the three-leading causes of
  death accounted for 58 of all deaths in West
  Oakland during this time.
• Did you hear this in the news? I wonder why?

Source Alameda County Public Health Department
Vital Statistics
25
Video from Media Speakeasy
26
Be aware of your surroundings

• What does it take for a community to be aware of
  what is going on in its own town?
• We will look at education and sources of
  information.
• First lets look at an education statistic
• 45 of West Oakland residents ages 25 and older
  did not possess a high school diploma in 1999
• (Source Claritas, 1999)

West Oakland Educational Attainment, 1999
Source Claritas, 1999
27
How do you get YOUR news?

• The maritime developments that the Port of
  Oakland will undergo has been in the news.
• I, myself, failed to get this information until I
  chose to look for it.
• According to a UC Berkeley student, Junn
  Masongsong, conducting a telephone survey
  involving a sample of West Oakland residents and
  their source of information regarding the ports
  expansion, a little more than half received their
  news from major mediums such as TV news and
  newspaper, and the rest basically heard the news
  from neighbors and word of mouth.
• Her figures tell us that many rely on television
  news for information, and that almost half of the
  residents had to hear it secondhand in regard to
  their own neighborhood.
• So we have to be sure not to rely on the media
  to inform us of what is important, we have to
  seek it.

28

• For instance, growing up as a kid in Oakland, I
  never knew about the controversy that was behind
  the rebuilding of the Cypress Freeway, which was
  completely destroyed in the 1989 Loma Prieda
  Earthquake
• Originally, the freeway structure and the main
  post office had fragmented West Oakland in two.
• With no choice but to remove the remnants of the
  freeway, West Oakland residents called for a plan
  to keep the Cypress from being rebuilt.

Image taken from Caltrans
29
Top Left Image taken from US Geological Survey
Top Right Image from www.bouwman.com
Bottom Image from Alameda Fire Department
30

• On Christmas Eve, 1996, California Department of
  Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) found significant
  soil and water wastes in a site of the new
  Cypress Freeway.
• Caltrans continued after DTSC approves a no
  cleanup plan.
• Protest immediately follows.
• Over four hundred comments were submitted against
  continuing the rebuilding plan during the
  evaluation period when submitting an
  Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
• Source Clearwater Revival Company
• Some sites never were cleaned up, as construction
  continued.
• Caltrans had initially decided to built a park
  where lead, chemical solvents, ammonia,
  chlordane, and PCBs were beneath the surface.
  (Source San Francisco Bay Guardian-July 7th,
  1999)

Image from www.bouwman.com
31
Evidence of Environmental Racism?

• The Residents probably should have done a little
  bit of background checking on the neighborhood
  they were moving into because this isnt
  something that just occurred. I mean when you
  live next door or across the street from a
  recycling center, a wrecking yard, a chemical
  plant the chances are there is probably something
  in the ground.
• Caltrans Spokesperson Stephen Williams, December
  28, 1996
• Source Clearwater Revival Company

32
So who stood up?

• The Chester Street Block Club teamed up with
  Greenaction and demanded that certain points be
  attained during the rebuilding of the Cypress
  connection.
• Founded in the 1960¹s, the Chester Street Block
  Club Association educates and empowers residents
  on environmental, health, social and economic
  justice issues.
• Greenaction is an influential non-profit
  organization that fights for environmental
  justice.
• They have fought for awareness of several major
  environmental justice issues
• They were there to help expose known quantities
  of Vinyl Chlorides at the AMCO chemical site at
  Third and Mandela Streets, now a Superfund site.
• They stood with other groups in support of the
  shutting down of the IES Medical Waste
  Incinerator in East Oakland in December of 2001.
• They stood with the Chester Street Block
  Association in the closing of the Red Star Yeast
  Company in 2003.

33
In opposition to Caltrans initial plan,
Greenaction and the Chester Street Block
Association demanded that several items be met in
continuing the rebuilding of the Cypress Freeway.

• Temporary relocation with adequate advance notice
  will be offered to residents in 16 homes on 3rd
  Street and adjacent streets during "Level C"
  work. Residents on 3rd Street and families with
  little children, pregnant women and people with
  health sensitivities on nearby streets involved
  in the temporary relocation will be placed in a
  nice hotel with per diems for food.
• Three feet of clean topsoil averaging no more
  than 30 parts per million of lead will be placed
  on top of the excavated area.
• Contaminated soils will be excavated to an
  average of no more than 400 ppm lead (residential
  levels, not the recreational levels initially
  planned).
• Dust suppression will be complete Caltrans
  promises to immediately shut down the work if
  dust leaves the site during excavation and
  construction work.
• Keep the community informed. Caltrans agreed to
  keep the community informed on a daily basis
  about developments and test results during the
  project. Caltrans agreed to establish a bilingual
  hotline for daily updates, post notices on a
  community billboard, and hold monthly community
  meetings during this project.

Photo from Greenaction
34

• According to Greenaction, there was a ninety
  percent victory against Caltrans in this
  situation.
• Here are a few pictures I took of the revamped
  Prescott park

35

• I also wanted to go check out the AMCO site at
  third and Mandela. It was only accessible for me
  by driving through the South Prescott
  neighborhood along 3rd Street. It was a few
  hundred feet from South Prescott Park.
• As I took a look, it really didnt seem to be
  what I had imagined as a Superfund site

36

• I saw four superfund sites within four blocks of
  each other.
• It was a bit difficult to comprehend how
  effective grass-roots networking could be,
  especially considering what this low-income
  neighborhood was up against

37
Video from Media Speakeasy
38
Excerpts from Black, Brown, Poor and Poisoned
Minority Grassroots Environmentalism and the
Quest for Eco-Justice, by Regina Austin and
Michael Schill

• Pollution is no longer accepted as an
  unalterable consequence of living in the bottom
  by those on the bottom of the status hierarchy
  (p.71).
• Race was the most significant factor
  differentiating communities with hazardous waste
  facilities from those without, followed by the
  value of owner-occupied housing (p.66).
• In the estimation of the grassroots folks,
  however, race and ethnicity surpass class as
  explanations for the undue toxic burden heaped on
  the minority poor (p.74)

39
The Importance of Networking

• I mentioned earlier that there was no majority in
  Oakland, implying that there are pluralities of
  different races in both Oakland and West Oakland.
  
• What this means is that there is much diversity,
  and you have to unite at least two of the
  pluralities to gain a majority.
• There are people who choose to unite with the
  Black community in West Oakland, in order to gain
  influence in the decision making process.
• A mutual alliance builds as some fight for clean
  air and water, and some simply fight for justice.
  

Picture from Greenaction
40
Excerpts from Environmental Justice and the New
Pluralism, by David Schlosberg

• diverse representation contributed to a clearer
  perspective of the commonalities of the
  problems. (p.112)
• local environmental justice and anti-toxics
  groups most often begin with people as members of
  community networks. Solidarity originates in
  community relationships-pre-existing social
  networks where people live, work, play and
  worship.(p.113)
• environmental justice struggles are not
  strictly environmental. Instead, they challenge
  multiple lines of domination, and it is
  difficult to discern where the environmental part
  of the struggle begins and where it
  ends.(p.117)
• Part of the crucial task of building networks is
  developing cooperation across numerous
  gaps-geographic, cultural, gender, social,
  ideological. The core of networking is the work
  of overcoming divisions by constructing links
  (p.119)
• Locality is similarity of experiences,
  traditions, and understandings it is not
  necessarily limited to physical locationPeople
  may share environmental experiences over
  distances, as particular practices or conditions
  arise in their communities. (p.121)
• Networking is suggested as a method of thwarting
  industry tactics. The CCHW (Citizens
  Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste) notes that a
  company looking for a site will choose a
  half-dozen or so communities that would be
  potentially suitable then they sit back and
  watch how communities react, moving into the one
  that is least resistant. (p.122)

41

• Thank you for your timeI hope this presentation
  has given you a good grasp of environmental
  justice within Oakland, mainly in West Oakland.
• Id like to give a very special thanks to Paul GM
  and Jake NW, for their technical expertise and
  resources. Without them, I would not have had
  enough inspiration for this project.

42
Sources

• 1. Austin, Regina Schill, Michael. Black,
  Brown, Poor Poisoned Minority Grassroots
  Environmentalism and the Quest for Eco-Justice.
  The Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy.
  Summer 1991 69-82.
• 2. Bagwell, Beth. Oakland The Story of a City.
  Novato, CA Oakland Heritage Alliance, 1982.
• 3. Institute of Medicine. Toward Environmental
  Health Research, Education, and Health Policy
  Needs. Washington National Academy Press, 1999.
• 4. Morgan, Monroe. Environmental Health. Canada
  Thomson-Wadsworth, 2003.
• 5. Schlosberg, Davis. Environmental Justice and
  the New Pluralism. Great Britain Oxford
  University Press, 1999.
• 6. Alameda County Public Health Department-
  Community Assessment, Planning, and Education
  Department. West Oakland Community Information
  Book 2001. August 2001.
• Available in PDF format at http//www.co.alameda
  .ca.us/PublicHealth/information/info.htm
• 7. US Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco
  District Port of Oakland, Oakland Harbor
  Navigation Improvement (50-foot) Project. January
  2000.
• Available in PDF format at http//www.50ftdredge
  .com/
• 8. J. Hayes, C. Landeiro, J. Rongerude.
  Pacific Institute for Studies in Development,
  Environment, and Security. Neighborhood Knowledge
  for a Change The West Oakland Environmental
  Indicators Project. January 2002.
• Available in PDF format at http//www.pacinst.or
  g/reports/environmental_indicators.htm

43
Sources (Continued)

• 9. Masongsong, Junn. Understanding Environmental
  Risk Awareness Levels in West Oakland. UC
  Berkeley. 2003
• Available in PDF format at http//ist-socrates.b
  erkeley.edu/es196/projects/2003final/Masongsong.p
  df
• 10. Clearwater Revival Company Website.
• Available at http//home.earthlink.net/clearh2o
  rev/prescott.html
• 11. Campbell, Sarah. Caltrans to Cleanup Poison
  Park. The San Francisco Bay Guardian. 18
  August 1999.
• Available online at http//www.sfbg.com/News/33/
  46/46ogpark.html
• 12. Thompson, AC. Gasping for air Bay Area kids
  in low-income neighborhoods are dying of asthma
  -- and San Francisco, Alameda County, and
  California are doing far too little about it.
  The San Francisco Bay Guardian. 21 April 1999.
• Available online at http//www.sfbg.com/News/33/
  46/46ogpark.html
• 13. Thompson, AC. Poison park Caltrans wants to
  build a playground on a toxic site. Neighbors
  want to stop it. The San Francisco Bay Guardian.
  7 July 1999.
• Available online at http//www.sfbg.com/News/33
  /46/46ogpark.html

44
Visual Imaging Sources

• Oakland Public Library. Oakland History Room.
• Available online at www.oaklandhistory.com
• www.oaklandhistory.com/files/h19th.html
• www.oaklandhistory.com/files/hafrican
• Oakland Harbor Navigation Improvement Project.
  US Army Corps of Engineers The Port of Oakland.
• Available online at www.50ftdredge.com
• www.50ftdredge.com/EIS/bigfigs/EIS_4.12-2.gif
• Foster, Lee. Foster Travel.
• Available online at www.fostertravel.com
• www.leefoster.com/CAOAKL-2.jpg
• Center for Computer Research in Music
  Acoustics. Stanford University.
• Available online at http//ccrma-www.stanford.ed
  u/mortimer

45
Visual Imaging Sources (Cont.)

• 8. Wilshire, HG 7Cluff, L. US Geological Survey
• Available online at http//geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/f
  act-sheet/fs176-95/
• California Department of Transportation. Cypress
  Freeway Replacement Project.
• Available Online at http//www.fhwa.dot.gov/envi
  ronment/ejustice/case/case5.htm
• Clearwater Revival Company.
• Available online at www.toxicspot.com
• Kite Aerial Photography. The Port of Oakland-
  Oakland, Berkeley.
• Available online at http//arch.ced.berkeley.edu
  /kap/gallery/gal117.html
• http//arch.ced.berkeley.edu/kap/1998_images/gall
  ery/portoak07.jpg
• http//arch.ced.berkeley.edu/kap/1997_images/oakp
  ort01.jpg
• National Museum of American History. America on
  the Move.
• Available online at http//americanhistory.si.ed
  u/onthemove/collection/object_702.html
• Both Videos were taken from Oaklandish. The
  video is titled Media Speakeasy.

46
Visual Imaging Sources (Cont.)

• www.mistersf.com
• www.mistersf.com/archive/index.html/?archive35a.h
  tm
• Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Silicon
  Valley Chapter
• http//chapters.sme.org/098/gallery-PortofOakland
  .htm
• The Port of Oakland
• Available online at www.portofoakland.com
• www.portofoakland.com/environm/images/img_prog_04
  c.jpg
• The African American Museum and Library at
  Oakland
• Available online at www.oaklandlibrary.org/aamlo
  /
• www.oaklandlibrary.org/AAMLO/exhibits.html
• www.help-for-you.com
• www.help-for-you.com/news/Aug2002/Aug01/daybydayw
  ithVOA_5_01Dec2002.html
• CBS-KPIX

47
Visual Imaging Sources (Cont.)

• 23. http//users.snowcrest.net/marnells/oakpier.h
  tm
• 24. Alameda Fire Department
• www.ci.alameda.ca.us/fire/cert.html
• www.bouwman.com
• www.bouman.com/maps/southwest/bayarea/oakland/aer
  ial.html
• www.bouwman.com/maps/southwest/bayarea/oakland/ha
  lfdrop.html
• Caltrans Images
• www.highwayman-routes.com/Cypress_viaduct_freeway
  .html
• www.ee.calpoly.edu/telab/links.html
• www.coxandforkum.com
• Greenaction
• http//www.greenaction.org/gallery/index.shtmlaz
  110499