The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) hosted a virtual briefing in collaboration with NLIHC’s Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) campaign, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles (PSR-LA), and Struggle for Miami’s Affordable and Sustainable Housing (SMASH) on June 12. The event focused on the pressing issue of green gentrification and its impact on displacement across various geographic areas and climate zones.
The briefing featured experts who shared their insights about the intersections of health, environment, and housing outcomes resulting from green gentrification and highlighted the ways partnerships across different sectors foster effective solutions. The event followed another discussion among the partners, during which findings from a new report, Healthy, Climate-Resilient Homes for All: Centering Housing Justice and Health Equity in Building Decarbonization, were shared. The report underscores the critical role of housing policies in promoting environmental justice and health equity and emphasizes the urgent need for federal policymakers to tackle the nation’s affordable housing crisis.
Panelists at the briefing included:
- Dr. Sabrina Johnson (Natural Resources Defense Council)
- Edgar Barraza (Physicians for Social Responsibility, Los Angeles)
- Trenise Bryant (Struggle for Miami’s Affordable and Sustainable Housing)
- Chris Selig (People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights)
- Grecia Orozco (Center for Race, Poverty, and the Environment)
- Chantelle Wilkinson (OSAH)
During the discussion, the panelists not only shared the multi-sector impacts of green gentrification but also uplifted the experiences of frontline, historically underrepresented communities of color and systems-impacted individuals. The conversation emphasized the necessity of implementing climate and housing solutions at local, state, and federal levels.
Watch a recording of the discussion here. (Use passcode 0sjf5*)