Climate change and the affordable housing crisis

How race and identity are shaping politics, policy and power.

Jun 21, 2023 View in browser   By Gloria Gonzalez With help from Calder McHugh, Jesse Naranjo, Teresa Wiltz and Rishika Dugyala. Residents look on from a rooftop during a parade Jan. 19, 2015, in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami. | POLITICO illustration/Photo by AP Hello, superhero aficionados, This was a superhero heavy weekend for me and my pals between Awesome Con and seeing “The Flash.” Imagine my joy when the very familiar sound of a salsa song called “Pedro Navaja” played on the screen in a scene involving young Barry Allen and his mother. No more spoilers (a couple are total whoppers that shocked even me). But that song took me back to a time when it was common to see people dancing to Latin music during block parties in the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, before my old neighborhood became what some experts and academics call the poster child for gentrification. Katja Esson’s documentary, “Razing Liberty Square,” shown at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York earlier this month, tells the story of gentrification in another neighborhood — this time in Miami. About 23 minutes in, Valencia Gunder, identified as a climate justice advocate who hails from the Liberty City neighborhood, is seen talking to residents about the impact of climate change on their community. “People think that climate change or environmental things is not like a Black peoples’ issue, but one thing I learned about climate: It affects us in the worst ways,” she said.   Was The Recast forwarded to you by a friend? Don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter here. You'll get a twice-weekly breakdown of how race and identity are the DNA of American politics and policy.   Miami, she told them, is “ground zero” for global sea level rise, but Liberty City’s elevated position protects the neighborhood from flooding — and that makes it an attractive prospect for those fleeing neighborhoods located closer to the sea. “Climate gentrification is happening,” she said. “It’s a huge thing and it affects a lot of us.” What’s climate gentrification, you ask? In short, it refers to the ways a changing climate causes shifts in the makeup of a community — with the potential displacement of disadvantaged residents who get priced out of their neighborhoods due to rising property values, taxes, rents and other economic factors. The documentary explores the ways in which the affordable housing crunch, cultural displacement and other problems are creating a new class of Black and brown activists. Like Gunder, these activists are determined to educate their neighbors about the connections between climate change and the housing crisis. It is difficult to separate climate-influenced gentrification from “good, old-fashioned” gentrification, as the housing expert who launched the term into academic circles says, or from green gentrification, where efforts to beautify parks and other community improvements drive up property values. But for local politicians and the activists fighting the displacement of low-income, predominantly Black and Latino residents of these Miami neighborhoods, there is no question climate is a key factor fueling the latest gentrification wave. “While we have general gentrification as a challenge, certainly the climate issues that are so pronounced in our geography have contributed,” said Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade County, which has “the greatest affordability challenge in the nation right now.” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava says her area has “the greatest affordability challenge in the nation right now.” | Joe Raedle/Getty Images Liberty City is becoming unaffordable for many friends and neighbors who are renters because of significant increases to their monthly housing costs, as well as homeowners who can’t afford sharply rising property taxes, Gunder told POLITICO in an interview last year. At the same time, she is seeing park renovations and coffee shops opening and new residents walking their dogs without interacting with the people who have lived in the neighborhood for decades. “As I move through the community, the people who are moving in, they don’t like to engage with the people who lived here before them,” Gunder said. “They like the culture, but they don’t like the people.” Climate gentrification is seen as further disadvantaging communities of color and low income communities because it is borne out of the legacy of policies and practices such as redlining and racial segregation. Back in the day, redlining efforts forced Black and Latin communities to less-desirable areas at high elevations, 8 to 18 feet above sea level, which is “like the Rocky Mountains,” said Caroline Lewis, founder of the CLEO Institute, which promotes climate literacy. But now, those once less-desirable neighborhoods are suddenly very desirable to outsiders.    “Everyone now sees that the coast has that elevation issue — that’s going to be underwater soon,” said Nelida Jean-Baptiste Pellot, who became an affordable housing activist after a fire destroyed their home, leaving them homeless, and they could not afford to stay in the Miami neighborhood they grew up in. Now, Pellot said, house hunters “want to move into places they didn’t want to move into before.” But real estate agents and the like disagree that gentrification is being driven by climate change. Instead, they believe the new interest in neighborhoods like Liberty City is caused by other factors such as employment opportunities — even though they acknowledge both climate change and gentrification are happening. Academic researchers studying the issue say people who question whether climate is the sole or primary cause of gentrification in a certain neighborhood should be more focused on how marginalized communities are being affected. “When people say there’s no proof that climate is responsible for gentrification, they’re playing this game,” said Marco Tedesco, climate resident scientist at the Columbia Business School. “And I think it’s wrong.” As always, we’ll be watching to see how this all plays out. All the best, The Recast Team   BEHIND THE BICKERING OVER ‘BLM’ New Pew research suggests support for the Black Lives Matter movement is experiencing a drop-off, largely confined to conservatives. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo Three years after the murder of George Floyd and ensuing nationwide protests rapidly changed public opinion on the Black Lives Matter movement, a slide back toward partisan bickering over what “BLM” means has continued. Over the last year, support for the BLM movement dropped by 5 percentage points, from 56 percent to 51 percent, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center. That’s down from 67 percent support in June of 2020. Support varies by race, age, ethnicity and — most strongly — partisanship. Eighty-four percent of Democrats say that strongly or somewhat support BLM, while only 17 percent of Republicans say the same. A majority of Republicans believe the words “dangerous” (56 percent) or “divisive” (54 percent) describe the Black Lives Matter movement well. These top-line numbers might not be ultra surprising. But digging into the new Pew poll, we can learn a lot about the state of BLM in America today. Let’s consider the history: A slide from 67 percent support in June 2020 to 56 percent support in June 2022 to 51 percent support in June 2023 might look like a fairly steady decline. The intervening surveys, though, tell a different story. By September 2020, support for the Black Lives Matter movement had dropped to 55 percent. That’s a precipitous 12 percent decline in three months. Then, between September 2020 and March 2022, support stayed relatively level — staying at 55 percent in September 2021 and rising to 56 percent (within the margin of error) by March 2022. These new results show another drop of 5 percent in the year between March 2022 and April 2023. It’s certainly not as steep as between June and September 2020, but it indicates that more people’s minds have likely been changed about BLM in the last year than in the 18 months prior. Digging into the crosstabs of the polling, it looks like that drop has been driven largely by Republicans. In March 2022, 22 percent of Republicans said they support BLM, compared to 85 percent of Democrats. Those numbers are down to 17 percent and 84 percent, respectively. There are multiple potential explanations for this, one of which is that in the last year, conservative media has been using the word “woke” to describe a host of what they consider to be more liberal leaning or progressive companies or causes. The Black Lives Matter movement is wrapped up in this, as a leading example of “woke” for conservatives. So, yes, new Pew Research polling shows that Black Lives Matter as a concept is losing popularity. But its results suggest its drop-off post-2020 is largely confined to conservatives — for now.   ICYMI @ POLITICO Hakeem Jeffries (left) got his first taste of political combat when he ran two losing campaigns against 20-year Assemblymember Roger Green. | POLITICO illustration/Photos by Wikimedia Commons, Getty Images, The New York Times via Redux Pictures Hakeem Jeffries’ Political Education — Before his career in Congress — and his ascension to House minority leader — the Brooklyn native cut his teeth on down and dirty New York political campaigns, reports Calder McHugh for POLITICO Magazine. Aiming to Make History — Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester announced she is running to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Carper in Delaware, reports Kierra Frazier. If she succeeds in her quest, she would be the third Black woman to ever serve in the Senate.   THE RECAST RECOMMENDS In Jenny Xie’s debut novel “Holding Pattern,” a young woman processes her mother’s newfound life as her own circumstances seem to be crashing down. It’s out this week. Samuel L. Jackson reprises the role of humanity-rescuing Nick Fury in Marvel’s “Secret Invasion.” The miniseries is streaming on Disney+ today. Singer-songwriter Ambré pays tribute to her hometown of New Orleans and some of its icons in her NPR Tiny Desk concert. Jharrel Jerome stars as Cootie, a 13-foot-tall young man, in the coming-of-age comedy “I’m A Virgo.” It premiers on Prime Video on Friday. An HBO original documentary spotlights the experiences of transgender women of color employed in sex work at the turn of the 21st century in parts of New York City’s Meatpacking District. “The Stroll” premiers on Max today. Gabrielle Union stars opposite Keith Powers in journalism industry rom-com “The Perfect Find,” dropping Friday on Netflix. Fresh off his recent legal troubles, rapper Gunna just dropped his new project “a Gift & a Curse.” He combines his unparalleled flow with extraterrestrial visuals in the music video for “back to the moon.” Yandel, Feid and Daddy Yankee team up for certified bop “Yankee 150.” The club vibes in the music video will have you looking forward to the weekend. TikTok of the Day: Crying inside   Follow us on Twitter Brakkton Booker @brakktonbooker Rishika Dugyala @rishikadugyala Teresa Wiltz @teresawiltz Jesse Naranjo @jesselnaranjo   Follow us

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