University of California, LA Goods Movement Case Study Handout A California Goods Movement Background Information Over 40% of all goods imported to the US enter the country through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. These Southern California ports are adjacent to each other in a densely populated region. Environmental health concerns related to the high volume of goods transported through the communities include polluted air, constant noise, heavy traffic, and continuous light from port, rail and warehouse operations. In 2001, NIEHS funded a town hall meeting to discuss environmental health issues in southern California with a focus on air pollution. Participants at this meeting, hosted by the Community Outreach and Engagement Core of the NIEHS Center based at the University of Southern California, were particularly concerned about goods movement as a major issue affecting the community. After this meeting, a group of concerned community groups began working together and with USC to raise awareness about the issue. The partners leveraged their resources of knowledge, time and funding to ensure that decision-makers understand the health and environmental impacts that goods movement has on the communities around the ports and factor these impacts into their decision-making. More than 10 years after the town meeting, the community and academic groups are still working together to raise awareness of the environmental public health impact of global trade and goods movement and to effect policy change to protect health. Partners Several partnerships formed in Southern California during the early 2000s in an effort to shift the focus of the goods movement debate from sole consideration of the economic benefits to considerations of the public and environmental health costs to the community. Some of the groups involved in the early partnerships included the University of Southern California’s Environmental Health Center (USC), the Center for Community Action and Children’s Environmental Justice (CCAEJ), and the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma (LBACA). These partners developed Neighborhood Assessment Teams (A-Teams) to collect air quality data, disseminate those findings amongst the community members, and mobilize the community to take action. The partners were particularly successful with sharing information and resources. Scientific partners learned from the community group members about goods impacts to their movement’s daily lives. The partners worked together to strengthen the capacity of the communities to use scientific and economic knowledge to mobilize other community members and advocate for policy change. After their initial successes working together, the partners decided to broaden their partnership into a larger collaborative called The Trade, Health and Environment (THE) Impact Project. New partners were included: East Yard Communities for Environmental
University of California, LA Goods Movement Case Study Handout A California Goods Movement Background Information Over 40% of all goods imported to the US enter the country through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. These Southern California ports are adjacent to each other in a densely populated region. Environmental health concerns related to the high volume of goods transported through the communities include polluted air, constant noise, heavy traffic, and continuous light from port, rail and warehouse operations. In 2001, NIEHS funded a town hall meeting to discuss environmental health issues in southern California with a focus on air pollution. Participants at this meeting, hosted by the Community Outreach and Engagement Core of the NIEHS Center based at the University of Southern California, were particularly concerned about goods movement as a major issue affecting the community. After this meeting, a group of concerned community groups began working together and with USC to raise awareness about the issue. The partners leveraged their resources of knowledge, time and funding to ensure that decision-makers understand the health and environmental impacts that goods movement has on the communities around the ports and factor these impacts into their decision-making. More than 10 years after the town meeting, the community and academic groups are still working together to raise awareness of the environmental public health impact of global trade and goods movement and to effect policy change to protect health. Partners Several partnerships formed in Southern California during the early 2000s in an effort to shift the focus of the goods movement debate from sole consideration of the economic benefits to considerations of the public and environmental health costs to the community. Some of the groups involved in the early partnerships included the University of Southern California’s Children’s Environmental Health Center (USC), the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ), and the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma (LBACA). These partners developed Neighborhood Assessment Teams (A-Teams) to collect air quality data, disseminate those findings amongst the community members, and mobilize the community to take action. The partners were particularly successful with sharing information and resources. Scientific partners learned from the community group members about goods movement’s impacts to their daily lives. The partners worked together to strengthen the capacity of the communities to use scientific and economic knowledge to mobilize other community members and advocate for policy change. After their initial successes working together, the partners decided to broaden their partnership into a larger collaborative called The Trade, Health and Environment (THE) Impact Project. New partners were included: East Yard Communities for Environmental