Program on the Environment

The Little Brook Park Redesign Project I supported during my environmental justice internship with Lake City Collective brought up concerns regarding gentrification amongst community members and landscape architects. In order to help address these concerns, my research seeks to understand how urban communities can work towards environmental justice by increasing access to green space in historically underinvested areas without contributing to gentrification and resulting displacement. To answer this question, I made an annotated bibliography for 10 sources related to environmental gentrification and displacement prevention and conducted 7 expert elicitation interviews with professionals in the Puget Sound area who have expertise in park planning, community development, community organizing, and environmental justice. The interviews were qualitatively analyzed through a grounded approach to thematic analysis by creating codes for recommended practices which were then used to extrapolate overarching themes. 4 practices to mitigate environmental gentrification found in both the literature and interviews were identified: Intentional Community Engagement During Park Design Process, Collaboration Across City Departments, Joint Development: Parks & Affordable Housing, and Investment in the Neighborhood Beyond Greenspace. It is important to note that environmental gentrification is very nuanced, complex, and context dependent, so the findings of my research will not be universally applicable. The findings of this research are primarily meant for my host site Lake City Collective, a community organization in North Seattle, by providing them with an overview of environmental gentrification & displacement practices that can support them in their environmental justice work.