Harry Mayer
We discussed in class about whether New Orleans should be rebuilt, or the residents should be permanently relocated. However, in other parts of Louisiana, forced relocations are already occurring. Isle de Jean Charles is an island in southern Louisiana that was populated by the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe. However, 98 percent of their land has flooded due to coastal erosion caused by rising sea levels and canals that were dug by oil and gas companies. As a result, the tribe was given Federal funds to relocate, as the island would soon become uninhabitable. But in an article from NOLA.com, it was revealed that there are plans to open the island to outsiders as a place to hunt and fish. In addition, the new properties being offered would ultimately be expanded to others who are not in the tribe, but have also been relocated due to flooding. There have also been numerous delays in resettling the tribe and many members have moved out on their own. With all this, it seems like the tribe might lose their sense of community.
This is a very unfortunate situation, but it shows that sometimes rebuilding after disasters is not always the best situation for a community. The area’s population is dwindling and with rising sea levels, the island will not become sustainable for people to reside full time. What is being mishandled though is the fact that the tribe’s needs are being overridden in favor of other interests. There were plans to relocate the tribe to a predominately White community, but this plan was abandoned because of worries that property values would go down. This shows that many aspects of redlining still exist today. Because many people moved out in the meantime, many of the island’s former residents would not be able to benefit from the new homes. This all goes back to the question of if we should be focusing on environmental preservation versus environmental justice. In my opinion, the focus should be relocating the tribe but in a way that keeps their small community together. And also the government should provide compensation to those who felt forced to move out due to the delays.
This begs the question, should the people who lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina have been given the funds to relocate elsewhere? Relocating a city that large would be a lot more difficult than relocating a small island community. Not only would the cost of relocation be a lot higher, but these people had jobs and communities in New Orleans. They would have to be able to find jobs and earn money wherever they would be resettled. Additionally, the situation on the future of Isle de Jean Charles resembles the fears some people have if New Orleans was relocated; that the mostly Black population would be pushed out of the city and it would become somewhat of an amusement park for mainly White tourists.
It’s not just forced relocation that is occurring. Climate change is already affecting the decisions of where Americans are voluntarily moving. However, it’s not the places one might expect. In an article by Forbes, one couple relocated from Oregon to Florida due to the wildfires. However, living in Florida has its own hazards, as shown by the recent hurricanes. In addition, studies have shown that parts of Florida might be underwater in several decades. The rise in temperatures could also result in increased risk of heatstroke. This shows that when it comes to relocating, many people mostly consider the short term effects. The wildfires are a current hazard, while the flooding and extreme heat that could happen in Florida is something that will not happen in the next several years. In addition, many areas that have been deemed climate change proof by scientists haven’t seen large spikes in housing prices. Duluth, Minnesota has been described as one of the most climate change proof cities in America, yet home values in the city in have risen at a lower rate than the national average. However, there are some recent reports that people are moving to Duluth due to the area’s resiliency. It will be interesting to see how climate migration across the United States plays out in the future.
Sources:
https://www.zillow.com/home-values/51758/duluth-mn/
https://www.forbes.com/home-improvement/features/americans-moving-climate-change/
