This study compared the lived experiences of youth in Richmond, California and Esmeraldas, Ecuador - two communities located near oil refineries. Both cities lack basic services and infrastructure and have higher rates of environmental health issues, crime, and violence. The study found that while the communities differ greatly, youth in both places face similar daily struggles of inadequate resources, lack of opportunities, and feelings of vulnerability. A survey of over 20 youth found no statistically significant difference in their reported quality of life, despite their different social and environmental contexts. While the youth aspire to create positive change, they currently face barriers that leave them overwhelmed by daily hardships without proper support.

1. North Richmond, California, a predominantly low-income community of color, is the vicinity of a massive Chevron oil refinery that was established over one hundred years ago, in 1902. Thousands of miles away in Esmeraldas, a
predominantly Afro-Ecuadorian coastal community in Ecuador established a state ran oil refinery, Petroecuador, that was built in 1972. Both cities have suffered from industrial accidents such as explosions, lacked basic services and
infrastructure development, elevated levels of environmental health problems and have higher crime and violence rates. When we think about youth development, youth can become overwhelmed by the circumstances they live under,
making them the most vulnerable members of society. Yet, instead of treating them with proper care and guidance, Richmond and Esmeraldas youth have received the short end of the stick; there is a scarce amount of resources and
opportunities for communities that are in need of help. By looking at two highly distinct cities in the global north and the global south, I hypothesize that Richmond and Esmeraldas youth share more common daily lived experiences
than differences due to structural factors found in environmentally unjust neighborhoods. The true purpose is to amplify the unheard voices of Richmond and Esmeraldas youth so that we can work, fight, aspire towards developing
cities that are environmentally just and offer a abundance of opportunities for all of our young leaders of tomorrow.
Methodology:
Lived experiences was measured by conducting a Richmond/Esmeraldas
survey of socio-economic conditions of the home demographics and
family, a 86 question survey about youth daily life. Participatory risk and
tenable mapping, is a series of identifying, listing and ranking risks and
tenables present in their lives; ranks were analyzed by frequency.
Objective mapping is simply a map where youth noted risks and tenables
in their communities. And a quality of life survey, is a series of personal
question about physical and metal health, to economic, political, and
social support.
From Each method, six key categories stood out and were used for my
analysis: household economics, neighborhood support, security,
education, resources and services, and the environment.
Results:
In general, youth within the same site had similar lived experiences.
When comparing both sites, each site had different experiences due to the
vastly different social, political, economic and environmental
backgrounds, however, the quality of life survey showed that there was
so significant differences between quality of life scores; See Figure 1.
This was confirmed by running a two tailed t-test with an alpha of .05.
Null hypothesis is: There is no significant difference between the quality
of life in Richmond youth versus the quality of life of Esmeraldas youth.
With a P-value of 0.337344 and alpha value of 0.05, we cannot reject the
null hypothesis and conclude that there is no significant difference
between the quality of life of Richmond youth versus Esmeraldas youth.
Conclusion:
Richmond and Esmeraldas are highly distinct places yet youths
perceptions have shown that they see many of the same
struggles and are left vulnerable without proper attention from
the state. Youth are required to face difficult situations that
require “adult” actions yet they are one of the most under self-
represented groups in society. A solution would look like mass
funding to support youth development by investing in education,
and public safety. As well as holding refineries and other
polluting sources accountable for their pollution admissions.
Additionally, it would be most beneficial to have a resource ,
specifically for youth, where they can directly report problems
in their community. That way, youth can realize their
importance in their community and gain the agency to control
their surrounding environments, instead of submitting to it.
Living in the shadow of an oil refinery has proven to be more
than what the environmental justice literature focuses on; youth
are overwhelmed by daily endeavors that places them in
vulnerable positions. But through the darkness, youth have high
aspirations to be the change they want to see tomorrow, however
today, they face the same barriers that hinder that change. We
must aspire to create positive change by supporting our youth.
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5
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Very Low Low High Very High
Youth
Quality of life Categories
Quality of Life Surveys: Richmond, California &
Esmerldas Ecuador
Richmond
Esmeraldas
Figure 1: Quality of life
scores range from 38 to 118,
and are categorized as
follows: very low QOL range
is 38-57; low QOL range is
58-77; high QOL range is 77-
97; and very high range is 98-
118; Note that the measure
of QOL is self-reported and
perceptual.
Background:
Field data was collected between June to the end of October, 2014. There
were a total of 22 participants, 11 on each side.
Control:
All participants in the study were: youth, defined as people between the
ages of 13-21 years old; residents of the study sites for at least two years;
of Latin American decent; and living in a close proximity to the
Richmond Chevron oil refinery or the Petroecuador refinery (i.e., less
than 4 miles away). In Richmond, participants ranged from 14-19 while
in Esmeraldas it was from 13-19 years old.
The methods used for this study were adopted, with permission, from Dr. Flora Lu and Dr. Gabriela Valdivia’s National Science Foundation-funded research project
entitled, “Collaborative Proposal: The Impact of Oil Extraction, Regulatory Policy, and Environmental Practice on Indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian Communities” (7/1/2013
– 6/30/2016).
Six key Categories:
House Hold Economics: In Richmond, six out of
11 participants have experienced a time where their
parents could not provide food for the home, in
Esmeraldas, it was 8 out of 11. In Esmeraldas it is a
particularly worse situation since some of the
participants turned to the river for food despite
acknowledging it is contaminated. In the Esmeraldas
risk mapping, food security and the home economy
was ranked 5 out of 9, on a scale on frequency. In
Richmond, the home economy was ranked 3 out of
5.
Neighborhood Quality and Community Support:
Three sectors in Esmeraldas were surveyed an it was
found that they lack paved roads, have unreliable
water sources, and heightened crime and violence.
Youths families rarely communicate with their
neighbors except when they need to trade water.
When the entire neighborhood hasn’t had water for
more than three weeks, they mitigate by buying
water tanks and then use the river as a last resort,
which is common. While they had access to
electricity and sewage it was reported to be
expensive. Public transportation via bus is important
since no participant had a vehicle. In Richmond,
youth also reported to have little to no relationship
with their neighbors. Though they did have access to
all basic utilities (water, electricity, sewage) and
access to internet, cell pones, public transportation
and vehicles.
Security: Youth are at risk everyday, in the risk
mapping, nine Richmond youth reported that their
sense of security was at risk , placing it at rank 2,
right under violence, which was reported 15 times
(violence includes: sexual assault, gang, gun and
domestic violence). In Ecuador, violence was the
third most frequent risk mentioned followed by
security. In one of the interviews, Anny drew on her
objective map two stick figures shooting at each
other while one laid dead on the ground, she labeled
it “innocent people die.”
Environmental Quality: Ecuador had the highest
environmental risks compared to Richmond. All of
Ecuador participants reported the refinery to be the
biggest risk in their lives. When the refinery was
talked about in the interviews, there were four
common themes brought up; one, the contamination
of the environment; two, the health risks of being
contaminated; three, industrial disasters; and four,
the refineries economic significance for Esmeraldas.
In addition, the river they use was contaminated by
the refinery, the upstream prison, and the people.
The refinery was ranked four. Though youth felt at
risk because of the past industrial disasters that
shifted their sense of security in their
neighborhoods.
Quality of Education: In my research, Richmond
has some of the lowest performing high schools in
California. Youth perceived their education to be at
risk, and were placed in rank four; at the same time,
they perceived it to be a vital resource in their lives.
Some of the reported acts of violence, drugs, gangs,
and sexual assault took place in their schools. In
Esmeraldas, the education system was not discussed
by youth in detail though one of their biggest
challenges was being able to afford the costs of
supplies and transportation.
Quality of Resources and Services: In Ecuador,
the following list is in the order of tenables ranked
from most frequent to the least: rank 1,family; rank
2, education; rank 3, government, refinery, and
neighborhood; and rank four, health center and
friends. In Ecuador, youth listed more risk (59 total
risks) than they did tenables (42 tenables). In
Richmond, the ranked tenables list goes as follows:
rank 1, extra curricular activities; rank 2, family;
rank 3, friends; rank 4, education; rank 5, food,
health, and technology; rank 6; religion, public
transportation and public places; and rank 7, jobs. In
Richmond youth listed more tenables (80) than risk
(49). Though Richmond had slightly more risk than
Ecuador. (Note: Not all resources mitigate reported
risks)By Edward Trujano Faculty Advisor Dr. Flora Lu