Port, air quality, and land use planning in the San Diego context

The San Diego community of Barrio Logan and the Westside community of National City are both in community plan update processes. Community residents and EHC have been working together for years to create land use plans that provide adequate separation between incompatible land uses, phase out polluting industries in residential areas, and provide affordable housing, grocery stores, parks, and parking. Meanwhile, the Port of San Diego has grown in recent years at a 10-15% annual growth rate and is actively pursuing additional cargoes for the cargo terminals, located in Barrio Logan and National City. This growth impacts air quality and limits residents' access to the bay front. At the same time, the Port and related waterfront industries provide thousands of jobs paying middle-class wages. Both the waterfront and the residential communities face severe gentrification pressures. Developers relentlessly push stadiums, hotels, and other non-industrial uses for the Port lands. The Port thus impacts the built environment of port side communities in two ways: (1) large increases in ships and truck traffic have led to truck re-routing and consideration of a buffer zone between the industrial operations and the community; (2) waterfront industries and the community have begun to unite their efforts to prevent gentrification of the water front and the neighborhoods. The keys to preserving industrial jobs while improving air quality and maintaining affordable housing near the ports are careful land use planning and maximum emission reductions from port sources.