Imagine if your neighborhood had a new park and playground, healthier electrified homes, improved public transit, a free green shuttle, an expanded community garden, hundreds of newly planted trees and solar panels at your community center.
Thanks to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Strategic Growth Council, this dream will become a reality for residents of San Diego’s central historic barrio neighborhoods of Logan, Stockton, Grant Hill, Mt. Hope, Sherman, Southcrest and Shelltown.
Endorsing Our Efforts
In late July, the U.S. EPA announced its selection of San Diego Foundation (SDF) and Environmental Health Coalition to receive a $20 million grant to help fund climate-resilient projects to preserve, protect and strengthen San Diego’s central historic barrios. The EPA grant will be combined with a previously announced $22 million grant received in December 2023 from the California Strategic Growth Council for the Transformative Climate Communities initiative, “Rooted in Comunidad, Cultivating Equity.”
“We are grateful to the EPA for recognizing how transformational this funding will be for San Diegans,” said Mark A. Stuart, SDF President & CEO. “This federal grant is an endorsement of our coalition of partners and community-driven approach to fund much-needed projects that will improve the health and lives of residents in our central historic barrios and create a healthier, more vibrant and resilient community.”
Together, the federal and state agencies will invest $42 million in these neighborhoods that have experienced decades of disinvestment and over-pollution and represent local communities that are most vulnerable to climate impacts such as extreme heat and poor air quality.
“San Diego’s central historic barrio communities are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change like extreme heat or wildfires, because of existing toxic pollution, disinvestment and chronic disease like asthma,” said José Franco García, Executive Director of Environmental Health Coalition. “Residents that suffer these conditions have voiced the community’s need for investments in clean air, green spaces, healthy homes and pollution-free transit. Now, we can put their vision into action in order to help their families and neighbors thrive for generations to come.”
Years in the Making
“Rooted in Comunidad, Cultivated in Equity” has been in the works for several years and would not have been possible without the Environmental Health Coalition, which has been working towards this moment since 2019. Along with leveraged funds, the central historic barrios will see a $67 million investment across eight different projects.
“[This] announcement is welcome news for families in San Diego and across the region. This funding demonstrates our continued commitment to addressing long-standing environmental and climate justice challenges and investing in the health and well-being of our communities,” said Representative Juan Vargas (CA-52), whose district encompasses the initiative’s project area. “I’m proud to have voted for the Inflation Reduction Act to support projects just like this one and look forward to seeing the positive impacts to come.”
In 2022, Environmental Health Coalition and SDF, along with 10 partners, worked to ensure their project plan was grounded in the community and led by the community. During the application-building period for the California Strategic Growth Council, Environmental Health Coalition hosted a survey and two community workshops that included participation and feedback from 400-plus community members.
“Efforts to address climate change need to include all communities, especially neighborhoods that have historically been underfunded. The nearly $20 million in Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change grant money coming to San Diego will fund much-needed improvements to air quality, expand access to clean public transportation, and provide green space that will mitigate extreme heat and beautify neighborhoods. This is another great example of how the Biden-Harris administration’s Inflation Reduction Act is truly helping all Americans,” said Representative Scott Peters (CA-50).
Unprecedented Investment in Green Spaces
Through the grants, the neighborhoods encompassing San Diego’s central historic barrios will experience unprecedented investment in green spaces, housing and transportation, community-led food production and distribution, and community centers, among other climate-resilient and community benefit projects.
The projects include:
- Tierras Indigenas Community Land Trust, a nonprofit working to purchase land in the Historic Barrios to ensure the housing and buildings built will remain affordable and community-owned for future generations.
- Holistic Healthy Homes Program, through a coalition of six community-based organizations, will improve indoor air quality in 25 homes through a “healthy homes makeover” including indoor electric and air quality upgrades, water-tolerant xeriscaping and other home repairs.
- Trolley and Bus Stop Improvements through San Diego Metropolitan Transit System will upgrade key transit centers and bus stops to make public transit in the area easier, safer and more convenient.
- Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center solar panel installation to reduce harmful carbon emissions while providing clean, renewable energy for the center that provides families a space to gather, study and celebrate Chicano culture, and find respite from hot temperatures, air toxicity, rolling blackouts and power outages.
- Via Verde Free Electric Shuttle, a sustainability initiative of the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center, to provide free, bilingual, on-demand electric vehicle shuttle service that will safely and efficiently provide door-to-destination transportation in Barrio/Logan Heights.
- Project New Village Community Gardens and Resource Center will include a 12,000-square-foot food center to support community-led food production, aggregation and distribution.
- Boston Avenue Park will be located along Boston Avenue and serve as a buffer between the I-5 freeway and the residential neighborhood, with 8-foot-high, vine-covered walls; two playgrounds; an off-leash dog park; pedestrian walkways; community art spaces and a bike path that will connect to the Chollas Creek bikeway.
- Plant 700+ Trees through the City of San Diego in empty right-of-way locations in the project area to improve air quality, increase shade, decrease temperature and beautify public spaces.
The EPA grant is one of seven awarded in California and one of 21 nationwide by the EPA during this inaugural round of funding. Selected applicants help disadvantaged communities tackle environmental and climate justice challenges through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience and build community capacity.
The Community Change Grants Program, made possible by the federal Inflation Reduction Act, is the single-largest investment in environmental and climate justice in history. The funding announcement is the first tranche of nearly $2 billion from the program, which was designed based on community input to award grants on a rolling basis.
To learn more about the “Rooted in Comunidad, Cultivating Equity” initiative, visit the Environmental Health Coalition website. This initiative is directly tied to the San Diego Foundation Strategic Plan and strategic priority to build resilient communities in our region.
