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Urbani izziv Volume 29, No. supplement, September 2018 : 79-94

(Articles)
doi: 10.5379/urbani-izziv-en-2018-29-supplement-005

 

   Article in PDF format

 

Author

Zeynep TURAN

The New School and John Jay College, City University of New York, New York, USA
zeynept7@gmail.com

 

Title

Finding the “local green voice”? Waterfront development, environmental justice, and participatory planning in Gowanus, NY

 

Abstract

The Gowanus neighbourhood, like many other New York City waterfronts, is facing a crossroads: how to promote development in a polluted landscape vulnerable to climate-induced sea-level rise that is inhabited by low-income populations and coveted by wealthy new arrivals for its waterfront property? For many years, toxic contamination and a combined sewer overflow problem inhibited new development in the neighbourhood. But in recent years, particularly beginning in 2010, after the Environmental Protection Agency designated the Canal and surrounding areas a Superfund site targeted for clean-up, developers have sought to shed Gowanus’s industrial identity and recast it as a prime up-and-coming residential locale. Although the community celebrates environmental restoration and protection, there is also a sense of foreboding that clean-up is paving the way for high-end development projects. This article charts the progress of neoliberal urban development in Gowanus through the lens of critical urban theory, identifying stakeholders and power dynamics. It looks at rezoning/revitalization as a tool of the municipality to transform an industrial business zone and low-income neighbourhood, ostensibly to foster development and cope with climate change and sea-level rise, but, in fact, cultivates socio-political exclusion and gentrification while ignoring concerns over the long-term environmental viability of new development.

 

Key Words

participatory planning, waterfronts, critical urban theory, rezoning, gentrification

 

 

 

PUBLISHER

Urbanistični inštitut RS
Urbani izziv - Editorial Board
Trnovski pristan 2, 1000 Ljubljana, SLO

  + 386 (0)1 420 13 10
  urbani.izziv@uirs.si

ISSN

Print edition: 0353-6483
Web edition: 1855-8399
Professional edition: 2232-481X

INDEX

GOOGLE SCHOLAR
h5-index: 14
h5-median: 20
INDEX COPERNICUS
ICI Journals master list 2022: 121,34
CLARIVATE ANALYTICS
Indeksirano v ESCI

 

SCOPUS ELSEVIER

SCImago Journal & Country Rank

1.7
2021CiteScore
 
88th percentile
Powered by  Scopus

SNIP (2020): 0.79
CiteScoreTracker (2022): 1.8

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