Abstract

As cities respond to accelerating climate impacts, scholars have identified climate gentrification as a phenomenon exerting displacement pressures on low-income communities, including ethnic enclaves. While climate gentrification pathways literature primarily addresses economic causes and effects, an opportunity exists to better understand policy contributions and social impacts surrounding resilience and displacement.

For this dissertation project, I expanded the concept of climate gentrification pathways to examine connections between displacement, resilience strategies, and urban planning. Using an interpretive approach, I explored how an ethnic enclave experienced and responded to displacement pressures, especially regarding social impacts related to (climate) gentrification. In addition, this project compared resilience and planning policies and strategies discourse with community discourse related to climate gentrification.

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) was employed as the methodology, drawing from multiple disciplines including linguistic theory and the critique of political-economic systems such as capitalism. This analysis interrogated power, ideology, and history to consider diverse sources of discourse and center the voices of marginalized groups. This project compared institutional discourse (e.g., policy documents and city commission minutes) and community discourse including public comments, statements of objection, and a community workshop/focus group.

This analysis found that resilience policies and planning seeking to address the housing shortage and sea-level rise can have unintended consequences. Resilience policy urging development on higher ground accompanied planning policy incentivizing development ignorant of community input. Despite protest, a massive development project proposed for Little Haiti received approval with few concessions to mitigate impacts. Uneven outcomes materialized, as in other low-income, immigrant neighborhoods, which tend to bear disproportionate climate and policy impacts. This dissertation project highlighted policy limitations that can entrench patterns of exclusion. The project’s conclusions may inform resilience and planning policy, as well as the need for democratic processes, capacity-building, and stabilization strategies for communities.

Details

Title
Climate Gentrification and Resilience: A Critical Discourse Analysis
Author
Hoermann, Serena A.  VIAFID ORCID Logo 
Publication year
2023
Publisher
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
ISBN
9798381327144
Source type
Dissertation or Thesis
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2909528599
Copyright
Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works.