South Los Angeles

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Overview

The South Los Angeles Community is located in the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), south of downtown Los Angeles and includes the neighborhoods of Hyde Park, Jefferson Park, University Park, Exposition Park, and historic South Central, Vermont and Florence.

The neighborhoods of Hyde Park, Jefferson Park, University Park, Exposition Park, and historic South Central, Vermont and Florence form the South Los Angeles community.

The community  has experiences a high cumulative exposure burden, rankings in the 90th percentile in CalEnviroScreen 3.0 and in the 80th percentile in SCAQMD’s Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study IV (MATES IV).  
Sources impacting the community include auto body shops, dry cleaners, manufacturing facilities, warehousing and distribution centers, oil and gas drill sites, and chemical plant sites.

Additionally, the community includes a significant number of sensitive receptors and census tracts  which have been designated as disadvantaged communities. Sources impacting the community include auto body shops, dry cleaners, manufacturing facilities, warehousing and distribution centers, oil and gas drill sites, and chemical plant sites.

The South Los Angeles Community has an area of approximately 23 square-miles. The community is adjacent to two existing AB 617 communities previously selected for Community Emissions Reduction Programs and Community Air Monitoring Plans: East Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, West Commerce and Wilmington, West Carson, Long Beach. There are approximately 396,300 people living within the community boundary. The vast majority of the population are of minority groups, 65 percent of the community is Hispanic and 29 percent are African American.

Community Boundary

Image displaying the South Los Angeles AB 617 boundaries

South Los Angeles' AB 617 community boundary files

Community Air Monitoring

In 2020, the Community was nominated by the District and selected by CARB as a monitoring community.

The Community Air Monitoring Plan identifies areas of interest for AB 617 monitoring such as stationary and mobile sources, monitoring site locations, sampling schedules, and types of equipment and strategies. The plan was designed to obtain detailed air pollution levels throughout the Community, determine areas in the community of highest risk, quantify sources of air pollution within the community, and position the Community to develop emissions reduction strategies and monitor the effectiveness of those strategies.

CARB and the District have historically implemented air monitoring which includes regulatory monitoring in Los Angeles County. The AB 617 community air monitoring plan is specifically designed with the community steering committee input to measure and collect localized and elevated air pollution levels data. The District considered health statistics, air quality concerns from residents in multiple communities, as well as screening tools that combine environmental, health, and socio-economic information to calculate community-wide risk factors in the planning and implementation of community air monitoring. Community-level expertise through steering committee meetings and input from a broad range of stakeholders supported the District's development of this plan.

The collection of comprehensive air quality data is essential to develop emissions reduction plans and strategies. The monitoring data will be provided to CARB once available and can be downloadable on AQView where monitoring data from other AB 617 community air monitoring plans are also included.

Community Engagement

Community engagement is a key part of the AB 617 program. Air districts are responsible for convening a community steering committee using an open and transparent nomination process. Community steering committees create new, and foster existing, local partnerships which drive the AB 617 program. In this advisory role, community steering committees oversee the development and implementation of the program such as in community identification, community air monitoring, and community emissions reduction programs. The steering committee aims to identify metrics, track progress, solicit, and share information with the Arvin, Lamont Community.

Additional Resources