CONTEXT FOR AN EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
BVHP and the Historic Impact of Environmental Racism
The Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood , a combination of the two neighborhoods contained in its name , lies in the southeastern corner of San Francisco , gifting residents with sweeping views of the Bay . Before development , the area ’ s tidal wetlands were a critical wildlife habitat , and today the shoreline still hosts more than 100 bird species a year as well as many California native plants . The Ramaytush Ohlone people were the area ’ s first people , living there long before Spanish missionaries arrived . The neighborhood thrived economically , becoming the indus trial heart of the City from the 1850s to the mid-1900s , with civilian and military ship and boat building yards , repair facilities and slaughterhouses . Many other businesses prospered in India Basin , notably the robust shrimping industry driven by Chinese immigrants during this period . 1
Though changing , BVHP remains a multicultural community today , with a population that is roughly 40 percent of its residents being Asian American or Pacific Islander ( AAPI ), 24 percent Black , 24 percent Hispanic , and 8 percent White . Within the radius of a 30-minute walk from India Basin , the population differs from the larger district , reflecting the larger district ’ s BVHP ’ s historical pattern : 50 percent of residents are Black , 32 percent AAPI , 29 percent Hispanic , and 10 percent White . The India Basin radius is home to 22 percent of San Francisco ’ s total Black population . This radius also represents a high degree of disadvantage , with an average household income about 60 percent lower than the overall rate for the City . 2
1 Historic context section of India Basin Survey , pages 8-40 ; Bayview Historical Society , ( 1 May , 2008 ). India Basin Survey , San Francisco , California . San Francisco : Kelly & Verplanck Historical Resources Consulting .
2 U . S Census Bureau ( The vintage of the data is 2015-2019 , 2021 , 2026 ). Data from the American Community Survey ( ACS ), Esri . Retrieved from https :// www . census . gov / programs-surveys / acs
Prior to , and even long after the neighborhood ’ s wartime peak and the subsequent closure of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard , the BVHP community struggled with the legacy of systemic environmental racism . 3 BVHP disproportionately bears a higher level of environmental and health burdens compared to other neighborhoods in the City . BVHP has nearly 136 cases of asthma-related emergency room visits and 9.5k emergency room visits due to heart attacks per 10,000 people every year . Nearly 7 percent of births in this census tract are at a low birth weight according to the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment ’ s California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool .. By comparison , San Francisco at large has approximately 39 cases of asthmarelated emergency department visits and only six heart attack-related emergency department visits per 10,000 people , and a low-birth-weight rate of just 5 percent of births .
Historically , polluting industries were concentrated in this area of San Francisco , leaving behind contamination and physical blight . 4 To the south of India Basin is the decommissioned Hunters Point Naval Shipyard , a US Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) Superfund 5 site . This polluted land is on the EPA ’ s National Priorities List due to its need for a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations . To the east of the Park is a decommissioned Pacific Gas and Electric facility that also contributed to the contamination of the land and bay waters . 6
3 BVHP has experienced disinvestment , crime and violence , high unemployment , poor health outcomes and environmental deterioration , and is identified as a “ disadvantaged community ,” as per California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool ( CalEnviroScreen ); https :// oehha . ca . gov / calenviroscreen / report / calenviroscreen-30
4 “ Ever dependent on the fortunes of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard , residents of India Basin and Hunters Point suffered as jobs at the yard began to dry up by the late 1960s . The industries that remained tended to be heavily polluting , contributing to the increasingly blighted reputation of the district .”; Bayview Historical Society , ( 1 May , 2008 ). India Basin Survey , San Francisco , California . San Francisco : Kelly & Verplanck Historical Resources Consulting .
5 EPA ’ s Superfund program is responsible for cleaning up some of the nation ’ s most contaminated land and responding to environmental emergencies , oil spills and natural disasters ; https :// www . epa . gov / superfund
6 Per CalEnviroScreen , BVHP has 3.4 active brownfields and 4.1 leaking underground storage tanks per square mile . BVHP is also burdened by stationary pollution sources that include the Southeast Sewage Treatment plant , many under-regulated and unregulated pollution-intensive (“ dirty ”) industries and air pollution generated by
20 INDIA BASIN EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT PLAN | OVERVIEW