Gentrifying Force or a Force for Environmental Justice? A National Assessment of Brownfield Redevelopment and Gentrification in the United States from 2006 to 2015

Abstract

Cities in the United States (U.S.) are increasingly developing sustainability initiatives to improve local economies while addressing environmental concerns. Since 1990, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfield Revitalization Program has encouraged the remediation of postindustrial sites to create new areas for real estate development. However, previous research demonstrates that industrial areas are more likely to be in predominantly poor and racial/ethnic minority communities. A central argument favoring redevelopment is that remediation helps mitigate environmental inequality and achieve environmental justice for aggrieved communities. Still, very little research examines if and how these communities benefit from these changes. This article examines this question by reviewing the related literature and applying insights to a quasi-experimental analysis of brownfield redevelopment’s impact on racial/ethnic composition and income levels of neighborhoods. Publicly available data were acquired from the EPA Cleanups in My Community data portal and the 5-Year American Community Survey—released annually from 2006 to 2015—to examine demographic changes in neighborhoods where brownfield redevelopment occurred. The study implements a difference-in-differences model using two-way fixed effects regression models on a panel data set of 4,740 census tracts in 48 contiguous U.S. states (or Lower 48 states). This study’s findings suggest that wealthier White and Latino populations are more likely to benefit from brownfield redevelopment than Black populations in affected neighborhoods.

Contesting the boundaries of physics teaching: What it takes to transform physics education toward justice‐centered ends

“…However, development incentives like these also make the neighborhood vulnerable to gentrification by predatory developers. This type of green gentrification has occurred in countless communities across the United States, pushing out residents on the heels of environmental remediation and sustainable development initiatives (Becerra, 2022). As a local physics teacher, I wondered how a field as nuanced as physics education can contribute toward either the maintenance or transformation of the disparate social and environmental realities experienced by my students and all who call Edenville home.…”

Superfund Sites and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in New Jersey State: A Photo Essay

“…13 However, such Brownfield site redevelopments may more likely benefit wealthier White and Latino populations as compared to Black populations. 14 Addressing Brownfields with funding from the BIL may help increase economic opportunities in those disproportionately affected communities and address environmental injustices.…”