G1.01 - Deep Dive: We Deserve Clean Air: CBPAR and Social Media to Advance Health Equity for Low-Income Residents

Brief Abstract Summary: Discover how an innovative partnership among local residents, a grassroots organization, and a university researcher used community-based participatory action research and social media to advance health equity for low-income residents who live close to freeways and are disproportionately impacted by long-term health conditions like asthma, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Watch community-led social media campaigns about how San Francisco’s downtown residents, workers, and visitors are impacted by traffic congestion and poor air quality. Listen to community voices as they advocate for traffic calming measures and initiatives in their neighborhood. Learn how one grassroots organization is leading a campaign to amend local health codes to enhance ventilation systems in single-room occupancy housing, rent-controlled buildings, and apartments in which many low-income residents reside. Be inspired by this community’s organizing and activism for social change and environmental justice.

Detailed abstract description: Community members of San Francisco’s South of Market (SOMA) neighborhood are disproportionately exposed to traffic-induced air pollution resulting from the area’s proximity to major freeways and downtown businesses. Ongoing construction projects that release particulate matter and the increased likelihood of residing in older buildings that lack updated filtration units can also exacerbate community exposure to poor air quality. Urban air pollution is particularly harmful for children, seniors, and people with underlying health conditions or disabilities. Poor air quality has been linked to chronic health conditions such as asthma, respiratory infections, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Traffic congestion endangers pedestrian safety and produces noise pollution. A collaborative partnership among local residents, a grassroots organization, and a university researcher used community-based participatory action research and social media to advance health equity for SOMA community members.

An assessment was conducted by community health ambassadors to better understand the health impacts of air quality and traffic congestion in the SOMA neighborhood. The assessment utilized both surveys and follow-up interviews from SOMA residents, workers, and visitors. The assessment also inquired about community members’ access to open space, as well as their recommendations to address environmental health, safety, and quality of life. Assessment data guides community planning, organizing efforts, and policy advocacy strategies to address traffic safety, environmental health, and community well-being.

Such efforts include a community-led social media campaign to raise awareness about the impact of traffic congestion and poor air quality on San Francisco’s downtown residents, workers, and visitors. Community members presented the assessment findings to local transportation board members and advocated for traffic calming measures in their neighborhood. Leveraging the power of social media, the Clean Air campaign aims to amend local health codes to enhance ventilation systems in single-room occupancy housing, rent-controlled buildings, and apartments in which many low-income residents reside. CBPAR and social media are innovative tools for community organizing and activism to champion social change and environmental justice.