A new settlement agreement regarding Oakland Airport's expansion is criticized for potentially exacerbating air pollution and inequities among East Oakland residents. The deal aims to reduce airport noise affecting adjacent Bay Farm Island but does not address broader concerns about increasing pollution and noise in working-class communities of color. Environmental groups argue that the agreement reflects ongoing environmental racism, as it prioritizes the needs of wealthier neighborhoods over those suffering from the adverse impacts of the airport expansion, revealing a troubling trend in urban planning.
"This settlement is an example of the port's continued pattern of concentrating toxic pollution in working class communities of color like East and West Oakland so that wealthier, whiter neighborhoods don't have to bear the cost of fossil fuel-dependent industries," said Sarah Chen, an associate attorney for Communities for a Better Environment, which is suing the airport. "This is textbook environmental racism, and CBE is committed to fighting for East Oakland's equal right to a healthy environment."
Some East Oakland residents and environmental groups say the settlement is a setback in their fight against the Oakland Airport's Terminal Modernization and Development Project.
The agreement directs the Port of Oakland to use existing plane taxiing areas during construction in order to minimize the number of plane takeoffs over Alameda.
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