How does exposure to climate risk contribute to gentrification?

Abstract

The growing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are influencing people's decision-making about the cities in which they will live in the future. The subsequent societal impacts of greater exposure to climate hazards require transformative action in coastal cities. However, few studies have considered the aggregate impacts of risk-induced household migration behaviour. In this study, we employ a difference-in-differences framework to examine hurricane-prone coastal cities across the US to explore the cumulative consequences of residential migration in response to climate risk exposure. Our results indicate that the cumulative in-migration due to climate risks may cause demographic shifts in areas where climate risk is relatively low, increasing climate gentrification. Climate-risk-induced migration to low storm intensity areas is associated with a 13.8 % increase in median income, while in-migration to lower flood-risk areas decreases non-Hispanic African American residents by 18.9 %. These results suggest that state and local governments should promote effective local-level climate adaptations to address climate risks, not only to ensure urban sustainability in hazard-prone areas but also to curb potential social inequality in low-risk areas.