Sunset Park: A Case Study of Community-driven Climate Resiliency Planning in New York City

Keywords: climate change adaptation, community-based adaptation, resilience, equity, land use, sustainability
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 11:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 12:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 31

Abstract

Contemporary scholarship on climate change adaptation and climate justice emphasizes the need to develop placed-based climate adaptation interventions, given that climate impacts are acutely felt at the local scale. It also point out the need to shift away from top-down policymaking and decision-making approaches because they do not reflect local needs and priorities. This paper examines a community-driven process on climate resiliency planning through a case study of Sunset Park, Brooklyn (New York City). Sunset Park is a low-income, working-class, waterfront community, made up predominantly of Latinx and Asian immigrants. Drawing upon interviews with city officials, developers, and environmental justice organizations, participation in workshops and community events, and analysis of planning and policy documents, the paper traces efforts to incorporate community voices into climate resiliency in Sunset Park over the past decade. These include efforts to recover and rebuild the waterfront after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, a controversial rezoning effort associated with the Industry City project, and a community-led climate resiliency plan called the Green Resilient Industrial District (GRID). The paper illuminates the complex and contested process of community participation in adaptation planning. It reveals how struggles over land use, economic development, and resiliency planning between city agencies, private developers, and community-based organizations can affect the future of a neighborhood. It offers lessons learned and strategies that can promote local adaptation efforts and help to empower community voices to produce more equitable outcomes.