Tag: hurricane harvey

Equitable Development and Climate Change

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.

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.

 

 

Hurricane Harvey and Migration Patterns

When I think about Science I am drawn to the interconnectedness events. The study of science encompasses a great many subjects, but I am often concerned with its effect on social life and human patterns. Which is why an interview published by the Atlantic piqued my interest. It studied one the possible repercussions of Hurricane Harvey on future migration patterns. Boustan observes many different types of disasters ranging from “a bad winter storm to Katrina.”

I’m interested in how people respond to events, and Boustan’s analysis bridges the economy, important historical events, and political actions. He brings up how as an economist he would have assessed the risk of living in a coastal area and a hurricane risk area (near the Gulf) before purchasing a home while most 

people tend to react after a devastating disaster. He brings up a past event, Hurricane Katrina, along with how government aid also affects the actions of migration (how people are willing to take higher risks when they are protected from them).

However, Boustan also brings up that no matter how much protection people living in high risk areas, as the repercussions of global warming get more severe the more likely people will move out of those areas.

The interview relays several interesting perspectives on Hurricane, it showed how seemingly singular events can cause catastrophic actions that continually ripple out – for years to come.  

 

 

Works Cited

Zhang, Sarah. “Will People Return to Houston After Hurricane Harvey?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 3 Sept. 2017, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/will-people-return-to-houston-after-hurricane-harvey/538719/.