Speaker
Description
“Climate gentrification” is the new turn of phrase used to highlight the disproportionate impacts of climate change on low-income populations of color. Sea level rise threatens to dramatically reshape life on the Florida coast. As waters breach the tops of sea walls and bubble up from below, they erode the risk tolerance of wealthier residents to remain on the coast as inundation becomes more permanent than a nuisance. Consequently, higher elevation neighborhoods are increasingly primed to become gentrification hotspots through speculation and permissive development incentives for migrating populations facing eventual retreat from the coast. The process of inland retreat may also lead to secondary displacement of long-term residents as the pressures of gentrification, investment and development take hold particularly in lower income communities of color. While there is growing attention to the potentials for mass migration and retreat from the coast, there is limited empirical analysis of the dynamics of displacement related to sea level rise and the planning mechanisms in place to manage impending neighborhood change in higher elevation communities.
This paper examines the planning efforts to address the risks of first order displacement from the coast related to sea level rise impacts and mitigate second order displacement in low income inland communities on higher ground. We employ a multi-staged research design to explore how major urban centers in Florida are planning for and developing policies to address the disproportionate impacts that marginalized communities are likely to experience in the face of sea level rise. The three stages of the research methodology include 1) mapping of displacement risk indicators, 2) a modified network of plans policy analysis, and 3) semi-structured interviews conducted with key resilience, housing, and planning actors in Miami and Tampa Bay regions.
This paper draws from our policy analysis and interviews with city officials, housing officials, and advocates. We find through the plan analysis there is a disconnect between resilience and environmental policies concerned about the effects of sea level rise and housing protection policies used to manage neighborhood change and prevent displacement. Likewise, our interviews show that all regions are operating in a pro-development political context and as long as property values remain high, the misalignment in timelines of developers working on short-term returns with the realities of the eventual long-term implications for these new developments on the coastlines will persist. In inland communities for each region, we find ongoing tensions between the interplay of revitalization initiatives and neighborhood preservation, where communities that receive upgrades, urban greening or flood proofing witness increasing property values and become targets for displacement of existing residents.
Local variations across the comparative cases reveal divergences in the salience of climate displacement perceptions and responses. In Miami-Dade areas that are primed for potential displacement are explicitly identified as inland communities of color which are already undergoing neighborhood change. In Tampa Bay-Pinellas, planners are in the process of understanding the vulnerabilities related to sea level rise, sources of affordable housing stock and identifying potential areas where primary and secondary displacement may occur.
This paper advocates for a more anticipatory model of planning and proactive examination of climate planning and housing policies focused on anti-displacement strategies to identify gaps in coverage and opportunities to promote greater equity and address the risks associated with first order and second order displacement.
References
Anguelovski, I., Connolly, J. J., Garcia-Lamarca, M., Cole, H., & Pearsall, H. (2018). New scholarly pathways on green gentrification: What does the urban ‘green turn’mean and where is it going?. Progress in Human Geography, 0309132518803799.
Gould, K. A., & Lewis, T. L. (2018). From Green Gentrification to Resilience Gentrification: An example from Brooklyn. City and Community, 17:1, pp. 12-15.
Keenan, J., Hill, T., & Gumber, A. (2018). Climate gentrification: from theory to empiricism in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Environmental Research Letters. 13: 5
Marcuse, P. (1985). Gentrification, Abandonment, and Displacement: Connections, Causes, and Policy Responses in New York City. Washington University Journal of Urban and Contemporary Law, 28, 195-240.
Rigolon, A., & Németh, J. (2019). Toward a socioecological model of gentrification: How people, place, and policy shape neighborhood change. Journal of Urban Affairs, 1-23.
| Keywords | Sea level rise; displacement risk; gentrification; affordable housing; Florida |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
