Since January 2003, the PACE-EH Assessment Team has been working to develop and conduct an environmental health assessment plan. This plan includes determining what group of people will participate, what information will be gathered, and how to collect that information. The foundation of the PACE-EH Assessment Team is that it is a community-based assessment, driven by the desires and participation of community members.

In winter and spring 2003, the Assessment Team used GIS maps to determine which areas of Multnomah County were most heavily impacted by environmental health hazards. The team also identified areas of environmental injustice, that is, areas where these environmental hazards fall disproportionately on communities of color and low-income communities.

Several environmental health and environmental justice indicators were used. Click on the underlined indicators to view the map.

• Cancer Risk per Million Population by Census Tract
• Potential Brownfields
• Industries Generating Hazardous Waste
• Superfund Sites
• Pre 1950s Housing
• Childhood Lead Poisoning Cases, 1992-2002
• Percent of Low Birth Weight Births by Census Tract, 1996-2000
• Air Concentrations of Formaldehyde by Census Tract
• Exposure Concentrations for Diesel Particulate Matter
• Exposure Concentrations for Benzene


• Illegal Dumpsites
• Solid Waste Facilities
• Percent of Population at Less than 200% of Poverty by Census Tract
• Percent of Population at Less than 100% of Poverty by Census Tract
• Percent of Non White Population by Census Tract
• Percent of African American Population by Census Tract
• Percent of Asian Population by Census Tract
• Percent of Hispanic Population by Census Tract

Based on the maps, the Assessment Team selected five geographical areas as potential focuses for the PACE-EH assessment. In April 2003, the PACE-EH Coalition met to select a priority geographical area. That decision was based on four criteria:

• Environmental Justice Area: Large percent of people of color, low-income, disproportionately affected by environmental and health threats, people with less political and decision-making power


• Multiple exposures to environmental problems


• PACE-EH support welcomed by the community


• Availability of existing data on that area

After a community discussion about these criteria, Inner North and Northeast Portland were selected as the geographic areas of focus for future assessment activities. Our goal is to engage selected communities within Inner North and Northeast Portland to be active participants in the first PACE-EH community assessment.

PACE-EH community organizers have focused outreach to Inner North and Northeast Portland since April, building new relationships, and sharing the PACE-EH vision of improved environmental health. Outreach to local residents, neighborhood associations, community organizations, and local businesses showed that these groups are involved in many types of community activities, such as crime prevention, care for the elderly, and increasing youth opportunities. Outreach to affordable housing tenant organizations and property owners indicated a growing concern over the environmental health issues sometimes associated with poor housing conditions.

In August and September 2003, members of the PACE-EH Assessment Team went on a neighborhood tour of Inner North and Northeast Portland to observe environmental health assets and challenges in low-income housing communities. Key members of two housing communities became very active with the Assessment Team, and in September 2003, PACE-EH partnered with eight housing sites located throughout the King, Humboldt, Eliot, Boise, and Vernon neighborhoods. Click here to see a map of the housing sites.

Currently, coalition members and community residents are developing the community assessment, and plan to conduct the assessment in winter and spring 2003-2004. Please contact us to find out how you can be involved in the future of PACE-EH! Contact PACE-EH Community Connectors for more information:

Kevin Odell
503.799.4404
kevin.r.odell@co.multnomah.or.us

Ben Duncan
503.988.3663 x22439
benjamin.e.duncan@co.multnomah.or.us