Receiving Community
Building Inclusive Places That Mitigate Climate Gentrification-Driven Displacement
Climate change is changing conditions in communities worldwide, increasing incentives to live and work in some locations and decreasing incentives in others, causing ripple effects across global, national, and local markets. As people of all demographic groups gravitate toward areas with comparatively lower risk from climate effects (receiving communities), they will spur local economic growth and development. As a result, local governments of these receiving communities and private interests will be challenged to ensure such growth and development is inclusive and equitable and minimizes gentrification-driven displacement.
This report defines climate gentrification and describes its impacts on receiving communities. It communicates the value proposition of equitable, inclusive, and resilient development in these communities and outlines specific strategies to minimize climate gentrification–driven displacement.
Key Takeaways:
- Climate gentrification can occur because of the international, national, regional, and local movement of people, industries, and businesses; it can be unintentional or actively encouraged by localities.
- It is important to monitor and understand how new development might influence gentrification indicators such as rising rents, decline in vacant properties, and rising rates of evictions and foreclosures to mitigate adverse impacts such as displacement.
- Climate gentrification can vary and compound as a result of a wide range of factors including regional climate hazards, household income, race and ethnicity, age, and educational attainment.
- Climate-driven displacement has many causes including ongoing disparity in wealth-building opportunities for vulnerable groups, changing community dynamics, and declining resource accessibility.
- The value proposition for investing in receiving communities includes preventing stunted asset value and avoiding repair and replacement costs.
- There are many time-tested strategies for mitigating adverse impacts and achieving more equitable outcomes in gentrifying communities (see Strategies for Mitigating Climate Gentrification-Driven Displacement below).
Much work still remains to understand the emerging dynamics of climate migration and climate gentrification; however, local governments and private real estate–sector professionals are particularly well positioned to lay the foundation for communities that serve the needs of all residents.
About Climate Gentrification
In this report, climate gentrification is discussed as growing real estate investment, spiking prices for housing and other goods, residential displacement, and demographic changes in areas with lesser exposure to climate change risks. Climate gentrification differs from traditional forms of gentrification because neighborhood change results from changes in demand that account for climate risk.
Property owners are starting to make decisions based on climate-risk factors. For instance, a 2022 study by Redfin found that homebuyers who have access to flood-risk information when browsing home listings are more likely to view and make offers on homes with lower flood risk than those who do not have such access. As people resettle in areas with less risk, communities will need to create capacity for new residents and be prepared to reconcile their interests with those of long-term residents. In this process, prioritizing equitable and inclusive development is important.
The threat of displacement in receiving communities looms large, necessitating definition of indicators, understanding of causality, and most important, coordinated action. The report discusses specific contributors to climate gentrification–driven displacement, namely, ongoing disparity in wealth-building opportunities for vulnerable groups, changing community dynamics, and declining resource accessibility.
The Value Proposition for Investing in Receiving Communities
The imperative for development in low-risk areas can be framed in terms of both the protection of asset value and reduced maintenance costs.
- Avoided value impairment. While climate risk is not consistently factored into property valuation and appraisal processes, acute and chronic climate impacts such as storms and flooding often result in stunted residential property values in areas where they occur. As effects worsen, the risk of stranded assets grows alongside the value of properties in lower-risk areas.
- Avoided repair and replacement costs. Cost of repair and replacement will increase as climate events continue to cause damage. In high-risk areas, this translates into a long tail of economic and health impacts as communities rebuild and recover as well as higher insurance rates. Receiving communities hold appeal because they are comparatively less vulnerable to these costly climate impacts.
Strategies for Mitigating Displacement from Climate Gentrification
This section of the report proposes six strategies for public officials and private real estate leaders to achieve more equitable development outcomes in communities that are, or are anticipated to be, affected by climate gentrification.
| Strategies for Mitigating Climate Gentrification Displacement | |||
| Strategy | Action | Description | Implementation Example |
| Facilitate climate-conscious local capacity building | Capacity building | Enabling all members of a community including the poorest and most disadvantaged, to develop skills and competencies | North Miami Community Investment Cooperative (NM-CIC), North Miami, FL |
| Enhance neighborhood stability through pathways to ownership | Community land trusts | Nonprofit, community-based organizations whose mission is to provide affordable housing in perpetuity by owning land and leasing it to those who live in houses built on that land | Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, Boston, MA |
| Enhance neighborhood stability through pathways to ownership | Rights of first refusal | A right in a contract where a seller must give the other party the chance to match the offer that a third party has extended to buy a certain asset | Rights of first refusal policies in Washington, DC, and Montgomery County, MD |
| Preserve and expand availability of resilient, unsubsidized affordable housing | Inclusionary zoning regulations | A means of using the planning system to create affordable housing and foster social inclusion by capturing resources created through the marketplace | The Inclusionary Zoning Affordable Housing Program, Washington, DC |
| Preserve and expand availability of resilient, unsubsidized affordable housing | Housing trust funds | A flexible source of funding created and administered at the city, county, or state level that can be used to support a variety of affordable housing activities | Affordable Housing Trust, Somerville, MA |
| Preserve and expand availability of resilient, unsubsidized affordable housing | Upzoning policies | A term used to describe changes to a zoning code made to increase the amount of development allowed in the future | Upzoning policy adoption, Portland, OR |
| Preserve and expand availability of resilient, unsubsidized affordable housing | Community benefits agreements | A contract between a developer and community-based organizations representing residents' interests | YWCA facility, Worcester, MA |
| Preserve and expand availability of resilient, unsubsidized affordable housing | Resilient zoning | Zoning policies that discourage development in vulnerable or environmentally sensitive areas while ensuring new construction and redevelopment are designed to withstand anticipated climate impacts | Resilient zoning policy adoption, Norfolk, VA |
| Designate space that is accessible, affordable, and relevant | Community engagement | Discourse between developers, public officials, and community stakeholders early in the design process that offers an opportunity for community members to learn more about, participate in, and influence public decisions. This process includes listening, discussion, deliberation, and decision-making, and can help build trust and develop local leadership when development outcomes reflect community input. | |
| Designate space that is accessible, affordable, and relevant | Universal design | The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. Considerations about universal design should begin early in the development process. | Cambridge Storefront Improvement Program, Cambridge, MA |
| Designate space that is accessible, affordable, and relevant | Resilience hubs | The use of less energy to perform the same task or produce the same result | Hau'ula Community Center, Hau'ula, HI |
| Apply design standards that promote building energy efficiency and contribute positively to the health and well-being of tenants | Building energy efficiency | Meeting building energy requirements with electricity as opposed to fossil fuels, to reduce emissions, improve energy efficiency, and provide other benefits | Communtiy Weatherization Coalition, Gainesville, FL |
| Apply design standards that promote building energy efficiency and contribute positively to the health and well-being of tenants | Building electrification | Standards that seek to reduce negative impacts on the environment and the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance | Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation building electrification project, San Francisco, CA |
| Apply design standards that promote building energy efficiency and contribute positively to the health and well-being of tenants | Sustainable building design standards | A financing mechanism that enables low-cost, long-term funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation projects | Portfolio-wide WELL certification, Avanath Capital Management |
| Support retrofit, maintenance, and recovery | Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing | A financing mechanism that enables low-cost, long-term funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation projects | C-PACE Program, Hartford, CT |
| Support retrofit, maintenance, and recovery | Untangling titles | Community-based organizations and private-sector real estate leaders supporting residents' efforts to prove ownership and participate in public programs -=-particularly those intended to improve homes' resilience and minimize costs | Adapting administrative processes to recognize informal relationships, Philadelphia, PA |
| Support retrofit, maintenance, and recovery | Grants for disaster recovery and resilience | Various grant programs that support disaster recovery and resilience-building | Storm Water Services flood buyout program, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC |
Support for this research was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the foundation.
Report Summary: Climate change is changing conditions in communities worldwide, increasing incentives to live and work in some locations and decreasing incentives in others, causing ripple effects across global, national, and local markets. As people of all demographic groups gravitate toward areas with comparatively lower risk from climate effects (receiving communities), they will spur local economic growth and development. As a result, local governments of these receiving communities and private interests will be challenged to ensure such growth and development is inclusive and equitable and minimizes gentrification-driven displacement.
This report defines climate gentrification and describes its impacts on receiving communities. It communicates the value proposition of equitable, inclusive, and resilient development in these communities and outlines specific strategies to minimize climate gentrification–driven displacement.
Key Takeaways:
- Climate gentrification can occur because of the international, national, regional, and local movement of people, industries, and businesses; it can be unintentional or actively encouraged by localities.
- It is important to monitor and understand how new development might influence gentrification indicators such as rising rents, decline in vacant properties, and rising rates of evictions and foreclosures to mitigate adverse impacts such as displacement.
- Climate gentrification can vary and compound as a result of a wide range of factors including regional climate hazards, household income, race and ethnicity, age, and educational attainment.
- Climate-driven displacement has many causes including ongoing disparity in wealth-building opportunities for vulnerable groups, changing community dynamics, and declining resource accessibility.
- The value proposition for investing in receiving communities includes preventing stunted asset value and avoiding repair and replacement costs.
- There are many time-tested strategies for mitigating adverse impacts and achieving more equitable outcomes in gentrifying communities (see Strategies for Mitigating Climate Gentrification-Driven Displacement below).
Much work still remains to understand the emerging dynamics of climate migration and climate gentrification; however, local governments and private real estate–sector professionals are particularly well positioned to lay the foundation for communities that serve the needs of all residents.
About Climate Gentrification
In this report, climate gentrification is discussed as growing real estate investment, spiking prices for housing and other goods, residential displacement, and demographic changes in areas with lesser exposure to climate change risks. Climate gentrification differs from traditional forms of gentrification because neighborhood change results from changes in demand that account for climate risk.
Property owners are starting to make decisions based on climate-risk factors. For instance, a 2022 study by Redfin found that homebuyers who have access to flood-risk information when browsing home listings are more likely to view and make offers on homes with lower flood risk than those who do not have such access. As people resettle in areas with less risk, communities will need to create capacity for new residents and be prepared to reconcile their interests with those of long-term residents. In this process, prioritizing equitable and inclusive development is important.
The threat of displacement in receiving communities looms large, necessitating definition of indicators, understanding of causality, and most important, coordinated action. The report discusses specific contributors to climate gentrification–driven displacement, namely, ongoing disparity in wealth-building opportunities for vulnerable groups, changing community dynamics, and declining resource accessibility.
The Value Proposition for Investing in Receiving Communities
The imperative for development in low-risk areas can be framed in terms of both the protection of asset value and reduced maintenance costs.
- Avoided value impairment. While climate risk is not consistently factored into property valuation and appraisal processes, acute and chronic climate impacts such as storms and flooding often result in stunted residential property values in areas where they occur. As effects worsen, the risk of stranded assets grows alongside the value of properties in lower-risk areas.
- Avoided repair and replacement costs. Cost of repair and replacement will increase as climate events continue to cause damage. In high-risk areas, this translates into a long tail of economic and health impacts as communities rebuild and recover as well as higher insurance rates. Receiving communities hold appeal because they are comparatively less vulnerable to these costly climate impacts.
Strategies for Mitigating Displacement from Climate Gentrification
This section of the report proposes six strategies for public officials and private real estate leaders to achieve more equitable development outcomes in communities that are, or are anticipated to be, affected by climate gentrification.
| Strategies for Mitigating Climate Gentrification Displacement | |||
| Strategy | Action | Description | Implementation Example |
| Facilitate climate-conscious local capacity building | Capacity building | Enabling all members of a community including the poorest and most disadvantaged, to develop skills and competencies | North Miami Community Investment Cooperative (NM-CIC), North Miami, FL |
| Enhance neighborhood stability through pathways to ownership | Community land trusts | Nonprofit, community-based organizations whose mission is to provide affordable housing in perpetuity by owning land and leasing it to those who live in houses built on that land | Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, Boston, MA |
| Enhance neighborhood stability through pathways to ownership | Rights of first refusal | A right in a contract where a seller must give the other party the chance to match the offer that a third party has extended to buy a certain asset | Rights of first refusal policies in Washington, DC, and Montgomery County, MD |
| Preserve and expand availability of resilient, unsubsidized affordable housing | Inclusionary zoning regulations | A means of using the planning system to create affordable housing and foster social inclusion by capturing resources created through the marketplace | The Inclusionary Zoning Affordable Housing Program, Washington, DC |
| Preserve and expand availability of resilient, unsubsidized affordable housing | Housing trust funds | A flexible source of funding created and administered at the city, county, or state level that can be used to support a variety of affordable housing activities | Affordable Housing Trust, Somerville, MA |
| Preserve and expand availability of resilient, unsubsidized affordable housing | Upzoning policies | A term used to describe changes to a zoning code made to increase the amount of development allowed in the future | Upzoning policy adoption, Portland, OR |
| Preserve and expand availability of resilient, unsubsidized affordable housing | Community benefits agreements | A contract between a developer and community-based organizations representing residents' interests | YWCA facility, Worcester, MA |
| Preserve and expand availability of resilient, unsubsidized affordable housing | Resilient zoning | Zoning policies that discourage development in vulnerable or environmentally sensitive areas while ensuring new construction and redevelopment are designed to withstand anticipated climate impacts | Resilient zoning policy adoption, Norfolk, VA |
| Designate space that is accessible, affordable, and relevant | Community engagement | Discourse between developers, public officials, and community stakeholders early in the design process that offers an opportunity for community members to learn more about, participate in, and influence public decisions. This process includes listening, discussion, deliberation, and decision-making, and can help build trust and develop local leadership when development outcomes reflect community input. | |
| Designate space that is accessible, affordable, and relevant | Universal design | The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. Considerations about universal design should begin early in the development process. | Cambridge Storefront Improvement Program, Cambridge, MA |
| Designate space that is accessible, affordable, and relevant | Resilience hubs | The use of less energy to perform the same task or produce the same result | Hau'ula Community Center, Hau'ula, HI |
| Apply design standards that promote building energy efficiency and contribute positively to the health and well-being of tenants | Building energy efficiency | Meeting building energy requirements with electricity as opposed to fossil fuels, to reduce emissions, improve energy efficiency, and provide other benefits | Communtiy Weatherization Coalition, Gainesville, FL |
| Apply design standards that promote building energy efficiency and contribute positively to the health and well-being of tenants | Building electrification | Standards that seek to reduce negative impacts on the environment and the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance | Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation building electrification project, San Francisco, CA |
| Apply design standards that promote building energy efficiency and contribute positively to the health and well-being of tenants | Sustainable building design standards | A financing mechanism that enables low-cost, long-term funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation projects | Portfolio-wide WELL certification, Avanath Capital Management |
| Support retrofit, maintenance, and recovery | Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing | A financing mechanism that enables low-cost, long-term funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation projects | C-PACE Program, Hartford, CT |
| Support retrofit, maintenance, and recovery | Untangling titles | Community-based organizations and private-sector real estate leaders supporting residents' efforts to prove ownership and participate in public programs -=-particularly those intended to improve homes' resilience and minimize costs | Adapting administrative processes to recognize informal relationships, Philadelphia, PA |
| Support retrofit, maintenance, and recovery | Grants for disaster recovery and resilience | Various grant programs that support disaster recovery and resilience-building | Storm Water Services flood buyout program, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC |
Support for this research was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the foundation.