ClimateJusticeReady

Introduction

Cities in the Global North are increasingly adopting nature-centered and other green infrastructure interventions to respond to climate risks and impacts and enhance their adaptation and resilience capacity. Yet, plans for such green infrastructure (GI) and other urban greening interventions tend to underestimate risks of displacement for lower-income and minority residents – what myself and others have previously called green climate gentrification.

Concerns About Displacement

Despite increasing recognition of this process and concerns for the displaced, few municipal green interventions are coupled with social provisions (such as social housing; resident-driven economic development schemes) to protect residents from displacement.

The Need for Predictive Measures

Predicting and preventing green gentrification is the only way to build a green resilience agenda that upholds the stated social and environmental goals of such plans and avoids green paradoxes born out of urban renaturing projects, which municipalities have expressed commitment to avoid.

Project Objectives

In this POC, I propose to further analyze the social equity impacts of climate adaptation and green resilience efforts and build on my GreenLULUs ERC in order to:

1. Create a replicable, interactive community- and policy-driven predictor index, tool, and analysis for green gentrification in the context of planned green climate-centered infrastructure.
2. Test the early development of an actionable, pilot municipal policy and planning instrument, such as:
   • A climate-adaptation focused community land trust
   • A municipal green bond program for equitable climate resilience
   • A community-based stewardship fund
   • Green minority-owned business seed grants (among others) to prevent green climate gentrification.

Collaborative Approach

These tasks will be decided and built in partnership with municipal governments and community groups based on pilot cities included in my finishing ERC project – Barcelona and Boston – so that this POC can support them in their work for more just green cities.