With growing concerns over climate change, it has become increasingly necessary to discuss and plan development changes to fit the changing climate. Some residential and commercial buildings near flooding zones, or areas that may become flooding zones in the future, need to be retrofitted to be able to withstand flooding and other climatic events. However, these developments need to be made equitable, meaning it must impact and serve people with at least some semblance of equality. If this does not occur, it can lead to augmented problems for already disadvantaged people.
With cities preparing for a changing future climate, development practices must be equitable to be valuable https://t.co/dXP2IsSYUE #bcsfh2o
— Matt Denaro (@mattdenaroMHC) October 31, 2017
However, this kind of equitable development may not happen under the Trump administration. According to the The Nation article, the Trump White House has ended some Obama-era EPA reforms that enforce equitable development and maintain federal standards for development. As the article argues, this may lead to inequitable development that could upend communities of color and/or poor communities in the case of large natural disasters caused by a rapidly changing climate.
As the article discusses, New York has made some strides in equitable development after Sandy. Evacuation plans for seniors and people with disabilities living in public housing. However, there is still more to be done and it is unsure how this can be accomplished considering the Trump reforms to the EPA and standards on development. Equitable development is a necessary thing, particularly in a world that has a changing climate that could potentially impact some more than others. Equitable planning and development must be apart of the discussion concerning climate change and what society can do about it.
