INLAND EMPIRE - Living here comes at a cost.

It’s no secret that priced-out coastal residents are flocking to Southern California’s Inland Empire that offers more housing for less. But according to a concerning new study, living here still comes at a cost.

The area’s booming logistics industry is polluting surrounding communities with carbon and PM2.5, harmful particulate matter that can lead to serious illnesses like heart and lung disease, a September study from Emory University researchers found. Heat maps from NASA and California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment reveal that this pollution is most heavily concentrated in areas like Ontario, Pomona and Rancho Cucamonga.

Over the past two decades, warehouses have been built in this region because the land is cheaper, leading to an increase in big rig traffic and goods movement, the study found. Researchers say these trains and diesel-powered trucks have compromised the air quality and overall health of nearby communities who have historically fled to these areas in search of affordable housing. Long-term exposure to PM2.5 has been linked to premature death, especially among those who have chronic lung and heart diseases, the California Air Resources Board says. Kids who grow up in communities with high levels of this particulate matter also develop smaller lungs by the time they turn 18.

The Inland Empire, which was previously touted as one of the last vestiges of affordable housing in California, has become a refuge for remote workers who can no longer afford Los Angeles’ cruelly expensive cost of living. The California Department of Finance suggested that the region’s population is booming as a result: Menifee welcomed 2,000 more people last year, SFGATE reported. Meanwhile, in San Bernardino County, Victorville’s population grew to nearly 140,000 people. Together, both counties tallied more than 22,000 new residents last year, leading to a “buying spree” among real estate investors who helped bolster median home prices in the area.

Though the Inland Empire has been thrust into the national spotlight in recent years as a result, it’s no surprise that its warehousing boom has led to concerning levels of pollution.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the e-commerce industry surged in response to changing consumer buying patterns, a 2022 article from the United States Census Bureau says. Online sales increased by $244.2 billion, or 43%, in 2020, data shows, contributing to an industry that’s only become more lucrative over the past decade.

“In distribution centers such as the Inland Empire, California, the scale of expansion stood out substantially, as the quantity of mega warehouses — defined as those with a rentable building area (RBA) greater than 100,000 square feet — increased by 166% from 2000 to 2022,” the 2024 study says. “... As available land diminishes, communities are gradually being infiltrated by newly built warehouses.”

According to a 2018 article from the Rose Institute of State and Local Government, a research institute in Claremont, Amazon helped transform the region into a logistics hub after it opened a facility in 2012. When it announced plans to open a second facility in San Bernardino four years later, company representatives said that the area has “proven to be an important part of Amazon’s growth in California.” The development doesn’t show any signs of slowing, either.

Story Date: November 4, 2024