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Environment & Climate Resilience

New UCLA Policy Toolkit Centers Community-Informed Solutions to California’s Air Pollution Crisis

Contributors

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Julia Silver Staff
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Silvia R. González Experts
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Rosario Majano Staff
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Samantha Alejandre Contributor
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Belem Lamas Experts
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Cesar Montoya
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Eduardo Garcia Experts
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Arturo Vargas Bustamante Experts

The Latino Air Pollution and Health Policy Toolkit builds directly on insights from advocates, organizers, and environmental justice leaders.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: lppipress@luskin.ucla.edu

New UCLA Policy Toolkit Centers Community-Informed Solutions to California’s Air Pollution Crisis

LOS ANGELES (November 5, 2025) — Latino communities living near California’s freeways, ports, warehouses, and industrial corridors have been warned for years by advocates about the impact of air pollution on their health. A new toolkit from the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI) validates their concerns with data and translates community priorities into actionable policy solutions for state and local leaders.

The Latino Air Pollution and Health Policy Toolkit builds directly on insights from advocates, organizers, and environmental justice leaders who participated in a statewide convening hosted by LPPI on July 16, 2025. Event participants identified urgent needs in community monitoring, public health protections, and enforcement. During the gathering, they emphasized that real progress requires listening to the communities living with the consequences of pollution every day.

LPPI paired those community insights with new analysis from LPPI’s Latino Climate & Health Dashboard, which shows alarming disparities in air quality and exposure. Compared to non-Latino white neighborhoods, Latino neighborhoods are:

  • Located much closer to hazardous and contaminated sites.
  • Exposed to nearly three times more diesel pollution.
  • More exposed to traffic density with less lower-emission vehicles.

“Our data confirms what advocates have been raising for years: Latino neighborhoods are consistently exposed to a higher pollution burden and greater health risks,” said Arturo Vargas Bustamante, faculty research director at LPPI. “By bringing these disparities into sharper focus, the toolkit gives policymakers a roadmap to target investments where they are needed most.”

“Advocates underscored that these disparities are preventable, and called for policy responses centered on accountability, communication, and equitable investments in clean air,” said Julia Silver, project manager for the Latino Climate and Health Dashboard.

The toolkit features strategies rooted in community leadership, including:

  • Strengthening enforcement and holding polluters accountable.
  • Sustained funding for CBO-led monitoring, outreach, and air-quality education.
  • Expanding promotora-driven health interventions.
  • Ensuring clean transportation investments reach burdened neighborhoods first.
  • Building state-local coordination that supports transparency and trust.

Belem Lamas, policy director at LPPI, added: “Latino neighborhoods have endured the health impacts of pollution for generations — and they have also been leading the fight for change. This toolkit reflects what we heard from community leaders: real progress means stronger protections, greater access to clean technologies, and accountability for industries that continue to pollute. Change begins and thrives when communities lead.”

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About UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute:

The UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute is a non-partisan research institute that seeks to inform, engage, and empower Latinos through innovative research and policy analysis. LPPI aims to promote equitable and inclusive policies that address the needs of the Latino community and advance social justice. latino.ucla.edu.