Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Winter 2019 - 26

"IF WE WANT TO BUILD GREEN AND EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES,
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO POLICY, AS DICTATED BY VARIOUS
LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT THROUGH THEIR URBAN POLICIES,
FUNDING AND CONSTRUCTION PROPOSAL CALLS."

- JOYCE MCLEAN

Across North America, there are many examples of cities that
have seen once impoverished areas now thriving as a result of gentrification, spurred on in part by green infrastructure investments.
Think of New York's High Line, Toronto's Distillery District or the
Mission District in San Francisco.
According to a March 2019 study by the National Community
Reinvestment Coalition, more than 1000 neighborhoods across the
US experienced gentrification between 2000 and 2013. Seven cities
accounted for nearly half of these changes - Baltimore, Chicago,
Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego and Washington
DC. This makes sense. Cities attract people. They come for work
or for education and are drawn to stay by attractive community
amenities.
Washington saw 40 per cent of its neighborhoods become gentrified during 2000 - 2013, displacing approximately 20,000 people.
Overall, according to Jason Richardson, one of the study's authors
and the director of research for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, "We've also shown that revitalization of struggling
neighborhoods is unevenly distributed. The big investments that
fuel gentrification and cultural displacement didn't reach most of
the nation's poorest neighborhoods and rural areas."
There is corresponding evidence to suggest that the greener
the neighborhood, the higher the income of the residents.
"Green" driven gentrification is not a new concept. In the 1980s,
environmentalists began to notice that poor urban areas, diverse in
language and culture are also the ones with the power plants, the
landfills, the polluting factories - all of which fuel our consumptive
society - but all of which are sited away from those with privilege
and power. This recognition birthed the eco-justice movement and
drew attention to the fact that where you live and your economic
status, very much dictated the kinds of surroundings you live in,
including the levels of air and noise pollution you are subjected to.
We know that green infrastructure investment in our cities has
massive health, environmental and economic benefits. Lowering
the urban heat island effect by embracing green infrastructure -
trees, green roofs, green walls, community gardens, for example, has
tremendous positive benefits for all, including reducing greenhouse
gas emissions by using less air conditioning and protecting people's
health. We know about the mental and physical health benefits
of being in green space; we know about the recreational pluses of
living close to green space and about better management of storm-

LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR / WINTER 2019 / 26

water; and we know how reconnecting with nature in our
cities is essential to community
and individual well-being.
If we want to build green
and equitable communities, it
all comes down to policy, as
dictated by various levels of
government through their urban
policies, funding and construction proposal calls. Tackling
climate change, according to a
2017 report by the California
Environmental Justice Alliance,
is also about equality.
Elizabeth Yeampierre, the
head of UPROSE, in Brooklyn
couldn't agree more. "It's not just
happening here in Brooklyn,"
Yeampierre said. "It's happening
all over the country, where really
amazing, diverse communities
are being homogenized." The
opening of the High Line,
an elevated park on the west
side of Manhattan, led to the
rapid gentrification of the
surrounding neighborhood. In
Washington, DC, new parks and
bike lanes along the north side of
the Anacostia River set off a rush
of development that sent many
longtime residents packing.
Yeampierre argues that cities should see climate change
as an opportunity to address
inequality, arguing officials
should reinvigorate struggling
neighborhoods, not only by
cutting pollution and shoring up
affordable housing, but also by

creating new jobs preparing for
a new climate future, installing
community solar PV and/or
building green infrastructure.
Chicago's 606 Trail has some
similarities to New York's High
Line. This is a signature initiative by former Chicago Mayor
Rahm Emanuel. His vision was
to create 800 new parks, recreation areas and green spaces
throughout Chicago. Extensive
community consultation followed once this former rail line
was identified. The 606 Trail is
now an elevated 2.7 mile (4.3
km) multi-purpose trail connected to six street level parks.
Unfortunately, while the linear
park is a success, gentrification
did contribute to ousting poorer
residents.
According to a December
2018 Chicago Business article,
"The public and not-for-profit
sector did the infrastructure -
the parks and the transportation
route - but then housing was
left to the marketplace," said
Alessandro Rigolon, a professor
of recreation, sport and tourism
at the University of Illinois,
and co-author with Jeremy
Nemeth of the University of
Utah on their July 2019 study,
entitled Green Gentrification
or 'Just green enough: Do park
location, size and function
affect whether a place gentrifies
or not?". "And of course, if you
leave it up to the marketplace,

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