Globally, urban greening has become pivotal in envisioning climate-resilient cities. However, research shows correlations between quality greenspace and green gentrification. Investments in green infrastructure may lead to an increase in property value and local community dis/replacement (Anguelovski et al., 2022). Inequities in access to greenspace could lead to an unequal distribution of “ecological and climate impacts in cities” (Grabowski et al., 2022, p. 2). The floodings that occurred in September 2023 and in May 2024 in Rio Grande do Sul revealed how disinvestments in stormwater systems in Porto Alegre and in dismantling of environmental protections statewide might have amplified the socioecological impacts of the floodings. In this light, this piece explores how climate policies foreground equity and sustainability as cities are pushed to envision climate-resilient futures. Specifically, drawing on an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, I analyze whether sustainability and climate justice buttress the green redevelopment of the high-end Guaiba waterfront park in Porto Alegre. Through a comparative approach, this piece looks into the planning and implementation strategies, narrative framings and public response to green planning in Porto Alegre. It also seeks to shed light on how real estate projects tackle green gentrification and climate vulnerability risks through public-private partnerships around the globe. As such, this piece brings together on-site audiovisual registers, as well as online discussions. Anthropology shows how infrastructure, social structures, and the natural environment are interconnected (Vaughn, 2022). Protestors in Porto Alegre contested before yet another flooding episode in late May 2024 that “This is not a disaster, this is negligence!” Meanwhile, Indigenous critics stressed that the river was (re)correcting its course. This study asks, thus, what climate futures might be foreseeable otherwise, in Porto Alegre and beyond when urban climate planning and disaster risk prevention happens with communities and urban ecosystems (Grabowski et al., 2022, Sultana 2014)?
Mapping the Future City: Building Climate-Resilient Cities Beyond Green Gentrification
Bibliografía
Anguelovski, I., Connolly, J. J. T., Cole, H., Garcia-Lamarca, M., Triguero-Mas, M., Baró, F., Martin, N., Conesa, D., Shokry, G., del Pulgar, C. P., Ramos, L. A., Matheney, A., Gallez, E., Oscilowicz, E., Máñez, J. L., Sarzo, B., Beltrán, M. A., & Minaya, J. M. (2022). Green gentrification in European and North American cities. Nature Communications, 13(1), 3816. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31572-1
Grabowski, Z. J., Wijsman, K., Tomateo, C., & McPhearson, T. (2022). How deep does justice go? Addressing ecological, indigenous, and infrastructural justice through nature-based solutions in New York City. Environmental Science & Policy, 138, 171–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.09.022
Sultana, F. (2014). Gendering Climate Change: Geographical Insights. The Professional Geographer, 66(3), 372–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/00330124.2013.821730
Vaughn, S. E. (2024). Unavoidable Slips: Settler Colonialism and Terra Nullius in the Wake of Climate Adaptation. Critical Inquiry, 50(3), 494–516. https://doi.org/10.1086/728935