Southport is a forgotten place.
Southport is noisy, isolated, and neglected.
Southport is full of air pollution, dirt, and traffic jams.
On a recent Friday evening, more than 20 West Side residents filled a room at Our Lady of Guadalupe church, placing stickers on oversized maps and sharing their experiences of life in the Southport neighborhood. While they represented different ages and backgrounds — Latine, Black, Asian and white, from pre-teens to elders — the group had common concerns.
Southport is loud and dusty.
Southport is my home, but also my greatest fear, because I constantly worry about the health of my kids.
Guided by staff from the University of Minnesota Design Center, the group wrote on notecards to describe what Southport is — and what it could be. They examined large maps and put hearts on the places they love and dots on sources of noise, pollution or traffic hazards. And, perhaps most importantly, they connected with neighbors to recognize and build their collective power.
For decades, West Side neighbors have been mobilizing against environmental harms and public health hazards surrounding the Southport Industrial District. With more than a dozen businesses on the 99-acre site, the district destroyed a diverse, vibrant neighborhood when the City of Saint Paul displaced residents of the West Side Flats to make way for private profit.
Since the 1970s, traffic in and out of Southport has steadily increased — trucks, barges, major highway, and rail all converging on an area that is also home to families, a school, and a church. Over the years, neighbors have come together to win important campaigns, blocking an asphalt plant, stopping a car shredding facility and advocating for the planting of more trees.
Now, Southport neighbors are coming together again, with a community-led vision and campaign for the place they call home.
For more than a year now, WSCO organizers, like Miguel Brito, have been knocking doors and having conversations with Southport neighbors. Those conversations have led many — like Elkin, who bounced a toddler on his legs at the mapping event — to recognize they aren’t alone in their fear and frustration about the air quality and emergency access.
“We've seen the surface, but we never knew what was going on underneath,” he said. “We thought it was just us experiencing these things. So that's when we went to the first community meeting and everybody's like, oh, a lot of people are feeling the same exact way.”
In 2025, WSCO convened a table of neighborhood leaders who have been meeting consistently and identifying common concerns. They’ve revealed that Southport neighbors are breathing air that state agencies agree is hazardous — and the zip code has asthma rates that are twice as high as that of the city and state. They’ve confirmed that Southport residents can be cut off from emergency services — like ambulances and fire trucks — for hours when private companies block access to the roads in and out of their neighborhood. And they’ve learned that it’s been nearly 10 years since the release of the Southport Industrial District Study that not only documented hazards but recommended actions.
Working with WSCO, they’ve also taken action together. In recent months, they’ve secured new, active air quality monitors; distributed safety and emergency equipment to area residents; and laid out a powerful, community-led plan to make sure everyone in the Southport community can breathe easy.
In 2026, they’re taking their campaign public, amplifying their demands to elected leaders and local businesses. Their goals? Create a neighborhood emergency evacuation plan, ensure environmental regulators regularly report to the public on air quality results, explore a dust mitigation ordinance, and enforce compliance with City ordinances on noise, dust, and traffic emissions.
“Your neighbors have been working very hard to build a foundation for change,” Miguel told the group at the mapping event. “This is an environmental justice issue, and these things don't go quickly. But your neighbors have pushed this word forward at a tremendous rate.”
In the packed room at Our Lady of Guadalupe church, the energy to keep pushing forward was clear. New neighbors learning about the campaign for the first time and leaders who have been meeting for months had a shared love for Southport — and a shared vision for the future.
Southport could be a beautiful place to live.
Southport could be safe, healthy, breathable, prioritized, and stress free.
Southport could be a place of sanctuary.
Learn more about the campaign and stay tuned for how West Siders from other neighborhoods can contribute to this effort!
