How Climate Change is Shaping Coastal Real Estate: Resilience Gentrification in Brooklyn and Barbuda

• In Event: 2251 - Section on Environmental Sociology Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 11. Environmental Injustice

Abstract

Given that climate change is exacerbating storms and storm surges at the same time that humans are increasingly settling in the areas most affected by such storms, post-disaster recovery processes need to be systemically analyzed. In theory, post-disaster recovery offers opportunities to rebuild for sustainable development. However, in reality, responses to climate events often result in greater inequality through a process we term resilience gentrification. Three possible resolutions to the coastal resilience dialectic are retreat, denial, and structural mitigation. Structural mitigation has become the most popular response in the Anthropocene. This response raises the cost of coastal redevelopment, giving capital greater access and control over development decisions. These changes affect coastal neighborhoods by making them more expensive and more exclusive. We illustrate this process in the post-disaster recovery of two very different communities: one in New York City and one in Antigua and Barbuda. In both cases, explicit attempts to build it back “green,” come at the cost of exacerbating existing housing inequality and “resilience” gets equated with wealth, thus reinforcing a cycle of climate injustice. This work contributes to the literature that seeks to better understand how post disaster recovery can lead to more equitable and sustainable communities. To achieve a just sustainability, public investments in climate change adaptations need to be equitably distributed, and government responses must consider and address the equity impacts of climate change resilience and adaptation policies. Undevelopment and degrowth strategies for climate resilience offer greater potential for a just sustainability in the Anthropocene.

Authors

• Kenneth Alan Gould, City University of New York - Brooklyn College

• Tammy L. Lewis, CUNY-Brooklyn College