After fires and hurricanes, the inevitable gentrification of disaster-stricken neighborhoods
Just over six months after the wildfires that ravaged Southern California, many residents are unable to return to their devastated neighborhoods due to the sharp rise in real estate prices. A phenomenon regularly observed in the country after a natural disaster, according to the American press.
In 2018, Panama City, Florida, was partially wiped out by Hurricane Michael, leaving many residents homeless. Nearly seven years later, this coastal city of just over 32,000 people “has largely recovered,” reports the Wall Street Journal . “But it’s not the same as before.”
“The city center, once a quiet area with dilapidated buildings and law firms, is now bustling with boutiques and brasseries. Much of the housing stock is more upscale and expensive, and the residents are generally more affluent.”
In Paradise, in Northern California, the story is similar. After a devastating fire ravaged the area, also in 2018, “many of the poorest residents moved out, more affluent newcomers moved in, and real estate prices climbed.”
A phenomenon that also affects the cities of the suburbs of Los Angeles, just six months after the fires that killed around thirty people and destroyed thousands of homes last January.
While the US federal government distributes compensation to disaster victims, “poor residents have a harder time navigating bureaucratic procedures.”
Courrier International
