Que Viva El Barrio: One neighborhood’s decades-long fight for a less-polluted future

Since the early 20th century, industry and homes have co-existed in Barrio Logan, a small, predominantly Chicano community on San Diego’s working waterfront.

Residents here have been fighting for decades for policy changes that would minimize industry in the area and create a less polluted community.

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In their own words: Barrio Logan residents on their community’s struggle with pollution

Activists, historians and residents speak in their own voices about the community’s efforts to reduce pollution in Barrio Logan.

April 8, 2022

This film captures the moments leading up to a critical city council vote that would prevent any new industry from building in the community and, when paired with a plan to electrify the big rigs that cut through the neighborhood to access the port, could finally pave the way for a cleaner future.

It also explores tensions as old as the Barrio Itself, as a local business that produces biofuel attempts to expand its footprint, even as neighbors begin filing complaints about the noxious smells coming from the facility.