Assessing the socio-economic impact of environmentally sustainable redevelopment plans on communities housed in social housing estates in EU and US cities

ended

Over the last decade, a new field of studies on ‘green gentrification’ has suggested a causal correlation between the implementation of environmentally sustainable planning initiatives and the displacement of low-income residents due to changes in property values resulting from environmental improvements. Such patterns are particularly alarming when 'green' development initiatives are implemented in disadvantaged neighborhoods with a history of concentrated poverty and social marginalization. In this comparative interdisciplinary study I will add to this growing body of literature by investigating the impact of 'green' redevelopment plans on the communities housed in three social housing estates in Europe and the US. I will conduct research in three cities –Berlin, London and Los Angeles – where three social housing estates, home to poor and marginalized communities, have been recently redeveloped as eco-friendly urban districts. My aim is to assess the extent to which these plans have encouraged processes of residential displacement of vulnerable households, including minorities and women, and if and what actions have been put in place to prevent them. My research objectives (RO) are: to examine the different politico-institutional landscapes in which the 'green' plans identified have been developed and operate in (RO1); to document the three redevelopment projects and the planning toolkits in use in each specific context (RO2); to quantify the socio-demographic impact of redevelopment, documenting residential turnover (RO3); to qualify the social impacts on the pre-existing public housing tenants through in-depth qualitative research (RO4). By shedding light on the dynamics of gentrification and displacement that may arise in social housing estates undergoing 'green' development, this research will provide an evidence base for policy making and encourage the design and implementation of equitable public policies that might counter unintended negative outcomes.