Kresge Foundation “Keep Baldwin Hills Clean and Green for Generations to Come”

Posted: October 19th, 2010

http://www.kresge.org/index.php/news/article/improve_environmental_health

A recent policy brief documents the ongoing struggle of Baldwin Hills residents – who live in a five-square-mile community located seven miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles – to expand their parkland and thereby improve the health and well-being of individuals, families, and children. To achieve this goal, the enclave’s largely African American and minority population supports efforts to transform the 1,000-acre Inglewood oil field, which has blighted the central core of the metropolitan area, into a two-mile-square urban state park.

In the May 2010 brief, “Keep Baldwin Hills Clean and Green for Generations to Come,” community advocates from The City Project and Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles discuss some of the legal, economic, regulatory, and political barriers to establishing the new parkland.

>> Read the full policy brief, “Keep Baldwin Hills Clean and Green for Generations to Come.”

They also urge Los Angeles County officials to fulfill a promise made in the late 1990s to the park-poor, environmentally hard-hit community to create green space that would greatly enhance the quality of life for residents.

Finally, they make a strong case for protecting human health, the environment, and equal justice in the Baldwin Hills community, park, and oil field.

The policy brief was funded in part by The Kresge Foundation to advance evidence-based work related to its Health Program, which seeks to promote the physical health and well-being of low-income and vulnerable populations by improving the environmental and social conditions affecting them and their communities. As one of its grantmaking priorities, the Health Team funds strategies that engage communities in the creation of healthy surroundings for children and families, including outdoor places where they are protected from pollution and environmental hazards.

“Our grant is supporting The City Project’s effort to improve access to park space for low-income and minority populations in the Los Angeles area,” says David D.Fukuzawa, Health Program director.

The authors present an in-depth discussion of the multifaceted benefits of parkland. These benefits cover a wide spectrum, including fun and recreation; physical, psychological, and social health; youth development; economic vitality; climate justice; habitat protection; and sustainable regional planning.

The authors also cite research findings that underscore the importance of regular physical activity – facilitated by parks and recreation resources – in fostering child development and preventing childhood obesity and associated chronic health conditions.

The policy brief recounts Baldwin Hills residents’ efforts to block other attempts to place toxic-waste and polluting sites (a power plant and a garbage dump) in their community. It also discusses the adverse health effects suffered by residents, which are believed to be linked to the Inglewood oil field operated by Plains Exploration and Production Co., a Houston-based oil company.

In a broader sense, the authors say, the Baldwin Hills situation reflects the pattern of unfair disparities in access to park and recreation resources that exists elsewhere in Los Angeles County, Southern California, and across the nation. These disparities, they contend, are based on race, color or national origin, as well as poverty and income.

For more information, contact Cynthia Shaw, cbshaw@kresge.org, or call 248-643-9630.