‘Slow violence that drives death’: a California port city’s struggle with pollution and shootings

The Valero Wilmington Refinery, seen from Anaheim St. Photographed for a story about the link between industrial sites, lack of green space and violence. Photograph: Damon Casarez/The Guardian

This story is published in collaboration with Grist.

For Daniel Delgado, the Fourth of July marked a turning point in 2020. It was the first holiday after Covid-19 had kept much of America locked down. In nine days, he’d be entering his 20s. He planned to spend his birthday relishing the Arizona sun with friends, but in the meantime, the holiday offered him an opportunity to be celebrated by family and friends, surrounded by love and human connection – things that had been hard to come by that year.