Creating a Toxic Neighborhood in Los Angeles County

Abstract

The city of Commerce, a largely industrial and Latino city east of Los Angeles, contains a disproportionately high concentration of manufacturers that emit toxic chemicals. The coincidence of a minority population and toxic sites is a classic example of environmental inequity. The authors seek to understand why industry located in this community. A historical investigation of the development of a hazardous community suggests that demographics alone are not responsible for the concentration of manufacturing in Commerce. The zoning decisions of the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission in the 1920s and 1930s set the pattern of industrialization in Commerce.