How New York's history of racializing and segregating tactics will risk flooding for some more than others.
It's no secret that coastal cities such as New York are at a much greater risk of experiencing the worst effects of rising sea levels.
But within the city, some parts are more vulnerable than others, and as the population continues to increase and gentrification pushes minorities on the verge of periphery… who will be the ones to drown?
Since Hurricane Sandy, New Yorkers know exactly just how much damage floods can bring. $19 Billion was lost at the hands of the storm, with 88 buildings engulfed.
With 44 deaths and damaged properties that suffered a massive drop of approximately 17%-22% in value, as based on sales data from 2003-2017, the city seems to grasp the risk of living in houses more vulnerable to coastal flooding, right?
Let's not be so sure about that.
The areas at greater risk of flooding, known as floodplains, are currently being further developed.
Alphabet City, lower Manhattan
The Lower East Side, the most affected area by coastal flooding, is made up of over 55% minority groups such as African American, Latino, and Asian communities, with 68.3% of the LES population living in Potential Environmental Justice Areas (PEJAS), and is facing ongoing development and gentrification, with the city allocating greater resources a well as a population increase
The same goes for, East Harlem, primarily composed of over 75% Black and Latino individuals and families, the neighborhood has seen development and population growth in the last few years.
Other neighborhoods affected, such as the Rockaways, City Island Bronx, Coney island, and Stapleton have a range of 40%-63.5% of a minority population, either black, Latino, or Asian, have experienced such as well.
While these communities are increasing in population and gaining more commercial value, the population of households living below the poverty line has increased since Sandy, and the influx of elderly populations has too increased since then.
Unfortunately, it is within these areas of the city that minorities, elders, and the impoverished can find housing that is determined to be less valuable, as a result of floodplain vulnerability, patterns of the racialization of neighborhoods, and a plethora of policies that detach these demographics from the rest of the functioning city.
As a result, the further development of these city districts, the prime floodplain sites of the city, are now at an even greater vulnerability to flooding.
And those who have no choice but to live in those areas will be the first to be affected.
And the rapidly changing climate doesn't really help with that either.
Boosted by climate change, the sea levels within the 20th century have risen between 11-16 cm across the world, aided by the extremely high carbon emissions of such an industrialized era.
And while the world has significantly lowered carbon emissions, we are still feeling the effects of the past, as we are now expected to rise half a meter by the end of this century, and in extreme cases, up to 2 meters in sea level rise due to exacerbating Antarctic conditions.
With ice continually at a melt, and the 100-year floodplain being further commercially developed, all while ignoring the deeply rooted and displaced minority and impoverished population, it must be crazy to think something substantially different would have been done by now…
Works Cited'
Herreros-Cantis, Pablo, et al. "Shifting Landscapes of Coastal Flood Risk: Environmental (in)Justice of Urban Change, Sea Level Rise, and Differential Vulnerability in New York City." Urban Transformations, vol. 2, no. 1, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1186/s42854-020-00014-w.
Kulp, Scott A., and Benjamin H. Strauss. "New Elevation Data Triple Estimates of Global Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Flooding." Nature Communications, vol. 10, no. 1, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12808-z.
Minchillo, John. "Hurricane Sandy Brings Havoc to Alphabet City." The Daily Beast, New York CIty, https://www.thedailybeast.com/hurricane-sandy-brings-havoc-to-alphabet-city.
Ortega, Francesc, and Süleyman Taṣpınar. "Rising Sea Levels and Sinking Property Values: Hurricane Sandy and New York's Housing Market." Journal of Urban Economics, vol. 106, 2018, pp. 81–100., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2018.06.005.
Schwarz, Shaul. "Sandy's Path of Destruction Leaves Mark on Brooklyn." NBC News, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/photo/sandys-path-destruction-leaves-mark-brooklyn-flna1c6760546.
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