Commentary: Seeking Environmental Justice through Public Participation: A Community-Based Water Quality Assessment in Bayview Hunters Point

Low-income, minority residents of the Bayview Hunters Point (BVHP) community in San Francisco, California, face considerable environmental hazards. There are strong beliefs within the community that BVHP is a victim of environmental injustice, based on perceived political neglect concerning potential links between environmental hazards and disproportionately high rates of cancer and asthma. The Yosemite Watershed Restoration Project seeks to apply the well-demonstrated benefits of community-based monitoring to a struggle for environmental justice in BVHP. Community members participated in a water quality assessment at Yosemite Slough, gathering a baseline data set to be used as a reference for watershed restoration and identifying potential pollutant sources and health hazards that had otherwise been ignored. The effort highlighted key opportunities for inspiring action among disaffected community members as well as key obstacles in engaging the broader community. It has laid a foundation for future efforts that will continue to build the community's capacity to play an active role in achieving environmental justice in BVHP.

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