From Pedestrian Safety to Environmental Justice: The Evolution of a Chinatown Community Campaign

Abstract

Oakland Chinatown holds the record for the highest number of pedestrian and vehicle accidents in the City of Oakland. In response, Asian Health Services embarked on a local campaign focused on increasing awareness among community members about pedestrian safety issues. Recognizing the limits of addressing pedestrian injuries from an educational outreach approach focused on changing individual behavior, this campaign with a community capacity building perspective. Exemplifying the tenets of the Prevention Institute’s California Campaign model to address health disparities, the current campaign now entitled Revive Chinatown!demonstrates how an ecological system approach can more effectively address a chronic public health problem, and how health centers can function as catalysts of community and economic development.