Climate Justice in NYC: Strategies for Equitable Climate Adaptation

Summary  

In this episode, SPR associate Michael Hannaman and Professor Sheila R. Foster of Columbia University’s Climate School discuss climate resiliency and adaptation efforts in New York City, with an emphasis on climate justice and community engagement efforts. The conversation explores the dimensions of climate justice, and the roles of data and of local expertise in understanding and addressing climate vulnerabilities. The discussion also touches on the challenge of, and potential solutions to, climate gentrification, and the importance of solutions like distributed energy. In a moment where federal funding and federal support for climate action is uncertain, Professor Foster remains optimistic about state and local leadership in ongoing climate resiliency efforts.  

Additional Resources 

Acronyms Used and Reports Referenced: 

• International Panel on Climate Change (I.P.C.C.): “the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change,” formed in 1988. 

• New York City Panel on Climate Change (N.P.C.C): “NYC’s independent advisory body that synthesizes science information on climate change to inform City policy,” formed in 2009. Find the NPCC 2024 Report here.  

• WE ACT for Environmental Justice (WE ACT): a community-based environmental justice organization, based in Harlem, NYC and Washington, D.C.  

• Northern Manhattan Climate Action Plan: a community-formed plan for addressing climate change in Northern Manhattan, published in July 2015.  

• UPROSE: a Latino community-based organization in Brooklyn that promotes “sustainability and resiliency in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood.” 

Community Land Trusts and Land Banks  

To learn more about community land trusts (CLTs) and land banks, including their history, governance structures, the policy arguments for them, and the legal mechanisms that promote their effectiveness, Professor Foster recommends the following resources: 

• Sheila R. Foster & Christian Iaione, Co-Cities: Innovative Transitions toward Just and Self-Sustaining Communities (2022), available as an open-access edition on the MIT Press website.  

• Kristin King-Ries, Advocating for Community Land Trusts, 31 J. Affordable Hous. & Cmty. Dev. L. 365, 389 (2023). 

• Jeffrey S. Lowe et al., Bringing Permanently Affordable Housing and Community Control to Scale: The Potential of Community Land Trust and Land Bank Collaboration, 126 CITIES 1, 13 (2022). 

• On Common Ground: International Perspectives on the Community Land Trust (John Emmeus Davis, Line Algoed & Maria E. Hernandez-Torrales eds., 2020). 

• John Emmeus Davis, Origins and Evolution of the Community Land Trust in the United States 37 (John  Emmeus Davis ed., 2014). 

To learn more about the community land trust and land bank in Baton Rouge mentioned in this episode, see the Plank Road Community Land Bank and Trust. 

Chapters 

• 00:00 Introduction to Climate Resiliency in NYC 

• 3:49 What Does Climate Justice Look Like in NYC? 

• 9:15 Defining Climate Justice & Environmental Justice Across Communities 

• 12:30 Mapping Environmental Justice & Data on Climate Risk for Equitab