These articles examine the typical tendencies and shortcomings of urban redevelopment post disasters. They demonstrate that despite the intentions of improving environmental conditions, economic issues often take precedence. Some of the redevelopment deficits are the failure to remediate existing toxic issues, which often results in amplifying these problems in the process of “improving” neighborhoods. There is also a concern that based on past revitalization projects, the consequential “environmental gentrification” that occurs fails to meet the needs of residents.
Melissa Checker illustrated how Hurricane Sandy illuminated the shortcomings of previous reconstruction after 9/11 and Hurricane Irene. Despite former Mayor Bloomberg’s commitment to environmental issues, many of his revitalization projects after these disasters seemed to cater to high-end real estate development, which undermined environmental goals. Referred to as “environmental gentrification”, it involved improving environmental burdens and upscaling low-income neighborhoods with green initiatives that appeal to the elite such as parks, bike lanes, and farmers markets. But, the paradox of environmental gentrification is that the environmental improvements attract more affluent homeowners, eventually pricing out low-income residents. Also, the reduction of environmental burdens in a gentrifying area may just transfer them to another low-income area. These projects often fail to address the basic needs of citizens with its market-based priorities. While many sustainability policies and plans may promote “green” initiatives that reduce greenhouse gasses, they are less concerned with the uneven distribution of toxic contamination. This prioritizes overall economic and environmental goals over the immediate health and environmental concerns of local residents. This is the result of the lack of community involvement in the planning process of urban redevelopment.
Mayor Bloomberg’s viewed private enterprise as the answer to environmental urban redevelopment. His approach to redevelopment involved combining private investment with sustainability initiatives, inspired by the Brownfield Cleanup Project launched in 1995, which gave incentives to private developers to clean up toxic properties. However, while this stimulated economic development it was not necessarily beneficial to human and environment sustainability. The Brownfield programs incentives had a tendency to benefit large developers and property owners at the expense of residents who were displaced after the ensuing gentrification. The privatization of brownfield programs prioritized cost-saving measures over solving environment issues Bloomberg launched the “Environmental, Social Governance” (ESG) in 2010 to attract investors with the intention of building affordable housing, fostering economic development and addressing environmental problems by 2030. But many of these environmental projects were ultimately linked to its real estate agenda. “In particular, the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) provided millions of dollars in subsidies to transform old industrial water front zones into areas filled with lofts, condominiums, and commerce that catered to the lifestyles of venture capitalists, suburbanites, conventioneers, and tourists (Checker, 166).” His aggressive water front revitalization was susceptible to flooding from storm surges and failed to adequately restore natural flood barriers or the address the legacy of hazardous materials that affected residents’ health. This undermined the environmental goals of redevelopment.
Miriam Greenberg’s article addresses the failures of redevelopment after natural disasters and recognizes how essential it is for community involvement. The Alliance for a Just Rebuilding (AJR), frustrated with inequities in post Sandy clean- up, had a long-term goal of discouraging “the top-down approaches to recovery and redevelopment that were established in the wake of 9/11 and Katrina. They unveiled a ‘people’s agenda’ for post-Sandy rebuilding with four demands: good jobs, affordable housing, sustainable energy and community involvement” (Greenberg 45). The involvement of the community in planning for urban redevelopment after a crisis was essential in assuring the community’s needs were met.
Greenberg indicated that neighborhoods in a state of post disaster crisis are vulnerable to the negatives of gentrification because of the urgency to redevelop. In this urgency, environmental issues tend to lose out to economic issues. In a process termed “crisis-driven urbanization,” uneven redevelopment transformed the post-disaster city: fortifying affluent neighborhoods, catalyzing gentrification and displacement in low-income areas, and realizing the long-held development dreams of powerful growth coalitions (Greenberg 46). Site assessments were conducted by the same private companies that coordinated site clean ups, resulting in substandard cleanup. Planning and execution of redevelopment projects were privatized and structured to limit public participation. “Urban regimes used public meetings, forums, and planning sessions to seek the ratification of their projects, not public participation in them(Checker, 175).” As a result residents became resentful that their concerns were not addressed and that projects were designed to attract more people to revitalized neighborhoods disregarding issues of pollution, traffic congestion, overcrowding in schools, and sewer problems. Not only was this lack of community involvement undemocratic, it resulted in economic interests superseding environmental and public interest.
Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow provides a solution for balancing environmental justice with gentrification by proposing that neighborhoods be made “just green enough”. This suggests that environmental concerns should be addressed, but modifications should be kept appropriate for the neighborhood to avoid radically transforming neighborhoods and pricing out residents. This attempt to prevent inequities resulting from gentrification requires community input. Tuhus-Dubrow cites improvements in Greenpoint , Brooklyn as an example of this strategy, where in the process of cleaning up toxic environments, neighborhood improvements addressed the needs of the working class community, preserving jobs, instead of focusing on creating attractive real estate.
Elizabeth Daigneau echoed this idea of creating neighborhoods “just green enough”, which she describes as making a neighborhood more livable without triggering gentrification. According to Daigneau, the key to creating neighborhoods that are “just green enough” is community involvement. She also refers to the neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn which was able to create a greener neighborhood and small park while preserving the character of the neighborhood. Contrasting Bloomberg’s large scale approach to urban redevelopment, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to fix 35 neglected parks in underserved neighborhoods. These are small projects that stress community engagement. This effort to improve the neighborhood is designed to benefit, not displace residents (Daigneau).
With community involvement, urban redevelopment can be achieved without displacing residents and undermining environmental goals. With conscious effort, city policies and practices can complement a community’s sustainability, equity, and public participation.
Sources:
Greenberg, Miriam. “The Disaster inside the Disaster: Hurricane Sandy and Post-crisis Redevelopment.” New Labor Forum 23.1 (2013): 44-52. Web.
Checker, Melissa. “GREEN IS THE NEW BROWN: “OLD SCHOOL TOXICS” AND ENVIRONMENTAL GENTRIFICATION ON A NEW YORK CITY WATERFRONT.” Sustainability in the Global City: Myth and Practice. N.p. 2014. 157-79. Print.
Daigneau, Elizabeth. “Just Green Enough.” Just Green Enough. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2015. <http://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-infrastructure/gov-green-gentrification-series.html>.
Tuhus-Dubrow, Rebecca. “Green Urbanism: Balancing Environmental Justice with Gentrification.” N.p., 9 Aug. 2014. Web. 3 May 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wilderutopia.com%2Fsustainability%2Fland%2Fgreen-urbanism-balancing-evironmental-justice-with-gentrification%2F>.
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