In past years, the environment has gotten significantly worse, and so has the issue of minority displacement. But have you ever considered that the improvement of the environment could be fueling this displacement?

Just take New York’s famous High Line for example: this was a new park constructed for the purpose of creating green space in New York’s meatpacking district, and ended up attracting over 5 million tourists each year. Neighborhoods around it became much harder to afford to live in, and thus the original low income residents who resided around the area have been being displaced. In turn, this hurts small businesses that can no longer afford the rent to maintain businesses in these locations, and the people for whom the green space was originally meant to benefit are not able to use the new facilities since they are being displaced.

When it comes to environmental projects, the main focus of many city and state governments is to create big projects in low income areas: new parks, new hiking trails, and other wide scale construction of green space. Take the Atlanta Beltline for instance: this initiative was started by a government funded organization called Invest Atlanta for the purpose of “enhancing mobility, fosters culture, and improves connections to opportunity.” Though the main purpose of the Beltline seems to emphasize equality and opportunity, the project as well as many other green space creation projects are not living up to their goals. According to an academic journal by dan Immergluck for Urban Geography [a]t the end of 2016, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. identified the following outcomes of the BeltLine: over 15,000 housing units, over $3 billion in total development either constructed or underway, and 2 million square feet of new commercial space. Of the 15,000 new units, less than 800 are affordable by the project’s standards, which is below 80 percent of area median income.

Another source shows that when Environmental Justice Sites are created in low income areas, displacement of blacks and latinos goes up 46% on average.

Thus, in order for low income people and minorities to enjoy the green space that is being created, there must be a way to stop the influx of higher income, often white people pushing them out. Initiatives such as fixed rents, incentives for developers to create affordable housing, and less wide scale construction of green space could be just the way to make these happen. Let's make green space less about making money, and more about making cities better for those who need it.