Why neighborhood oil drilling?
Thousands of oil drilling sites are concentrated in Los Angeles,
which houses the largest urban oil field in the United States. Oil wells - both active and inactive (though unsealed) -
can profoundly impact people's health, causing symptoms such as headaches, asthma, nosebleeds, and even cancer.
These health effects have been well-documented,
but personal narratives describing the first-hand experiences of those living near neighborhood oil wells are not generally available nor accessible.
Additionally, the health and environmental effects of oil drilling are not evenly distributed. Most active oil wells are situated in or near
low-income, historically-marginalized neighborhoods, primarily affecting Black and Latinx communities. Oil wells located in these underserved
areas are also typically subject to fewer regulations, are closer to homes, and are often uncovered ("Assessing the Health and Community
Impacts of Oil Drilling Near Homes in South Los Angeles").
About the Map
Our project aims to serve as a platform for individuals residing near neighborhood oil wells to share their health
experiences and stories. By doing so, we aspire to empower communities, fostering unity in the collective effort to
end residential oil drilling. We hope that this map will reveal and further bolster research that shows how discriminatory
housing policies have resulted in environmental injustice and racism.
Mapping Our Stories serves as an interactive
digital community archive, mapping a growing database of interviews conducted by STAND-LA coalition members. We aim to
highlight historically-marginalized voices through the power of storytelling. We believe that the effects of neighborhood
oil drilling cannot solely be represented through statistics and impersonal health data. This map aims to shed light on
the human stories and lived experiences of community members affected by the ongoing crisis of residential oil drilling.
Acknowledgements
This project was created and led by Maizah Ali, a member of the 2023-2024 UCLA Internet Research Initiative cohort, under the mentorship of Professor Margaret Phillips. This work could not have been completed without the time and generosity of Ruth Andrade, a community organizer for SCOPE who helped bridge my work with the community and facilitate all interviews. A special thank you to Lluvia Cardenas for her translating skills, to Emma Silber for her invaluable advice and for connecting me to Ruth, and to Ignacio Gutierrez for his help with facilitating community connections. This project built upon my work for Web Development and GIS for Social Change, a course designed and taught by Albert Kochaphum at UCLA. Thank you to Albert for equipping me with the skills and template code necessary to build this mapping site, and to Catherine Hu for her help with building the initial prototype of this project. Thank you as well to Lisa Hart, Danielle Hoague, Professor Lara Cushing, Professor Nadia Kim, Salma Abumeeiz, Rohit Bhat, and Dr. Leonard Kleinrock for their support and advice throughout this process.