Climigration Network members and partners are leading important and interesting work this spring! Here are just some of the updates folks have shared.
New projects:
With partners Kelly Leilani Main (Buy-In Community Planning), David Southgate (Un Nuevo Amanecer), and Camille Hadley (Little Growers), the Climigration Network is excited to embark on a new effort with a cohort of community leaders to (1) explore how leaders are currently coping with trauma and mental health challenges as they lead community climate adaptation efforts and (2) develop a broader program to support them and their communities in the years to come. The effort is funded by a Community Innovators Grant from the Department of Health and Human Services. Learn more here!
With seed grant funding from the Salata Institute, Hannah Teicher, alongside Michael Hooper, will study a pilot program in British Columbia that is facilitating migration from the low-lying Solomon Islands. The study will entail semi-structured interviews over the summer of 2024 with three groups: Solomon Islanders relocating to Canada; decision-makers at resettlement-related NGOs and public agencies in Canada; and provincial and federal policymakers with an interest in revising climate migration policy. Learn more here!
New resources & publications:
Buy-In Community Planning launched a new “Buy-In Resource Library” - a collection of resources for people who are looking to learn more about the current state of research, knowledge, and practice on buyout programs. This open source library will continue to grow and evolve with input from users. Visit the library and submit more materials here!
Vidya Balasubramanyam, with colleagues Lauren Boritzke Smith and Jothsna Harris, captured narratives and art that emerged through habitat restoration efforts in a work titled “Stories of Great Lakes Restoration” on the Coastal States Organization website. The collaborators hope that these stories and art spark new ways of thinking, learning, and unlearning. View the work here!
Tim Robustelli and colleagues at New America released a new report titled “Climate Migration's Impact on Housing Security in the United States: Recommendations for Receiving Communities.” The report examines impacts of population inflows in receiving communities, and policy options available to those receiving communities. Read the publication here!
Alex Miller and colleagues at Urban Ocean Lab published a new memo “Climate-Driven Relocation for Coastal Cities: Principles and Recommendations,” which explores what actions coastal cities can take now for housing security and mobility, land use and conservation, and innovative finance. Read the publication here!
Shaieree Cottar, with colleagues Evalyna Bogdan, Rachel Krueger, Julie Wright, and Kyle Woods, published “Disaster Awareness and Preparedness Among Older Adults in Canada Regarding Floods, Wildfires, and Earthquakes.” Recommendations include (1) improving awareness and preparedness with tailor-made emergency preparedness materials for older adults; and (2) adopting community-based approaches to disaster preparedness through existing community groups to strengthen social connections with a focus on locally specific hazards. Read the publication here!
Michél Legendre shared the film “Vakaraitaka,” a four-part cinematic poem in which Fijian storyteller Fenton Lutunatabua utilizes landscape, dance and language to weave together multiple layers of beauty, pain, colonialism, climate change culture, and loss. Learn more here!
Liz Koslov and Katie McConnell published “Critically assessing the idea of wildfire managed retreat” where they lay out a research agenda to critically evaluate managed retreat as an adaptive response to wildfire. Read the publication here!
Katie McConnell and Christian V. Braneon published “Post-wildfire neighborhood change: Evidence from the 2018 Camp Fire,” exploring wildfire displacement dynamics and is focused on impacts and recovery following the 2018 Camp Fire. Read the publication here!
Shaieree Cottar and Johanna Wandel published "Municipal perspectives on managed retreat and flood mitigation: A case analysis of Merritt, Canada after the 2021 British Columbia flood disaster.” This study assessed preliminary discussions among decision makers surrounding long term risk reduction options including rebuild and managed retreat strategies, perceptions of flood risk, recovery challenges faced by small-scale municipalities, the development of the community’s flood mitigation plan, and recommendations for post-disaster transitional supports. Read the publication here!
Anna Weber analyzed the fourth year of FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program, breaking down the funding availability, capacity building, Community Disaster Resilience Zones, and prioritization criteria used in the program. Read the blog here!
New America recently released a report “Beyond Rebuilding: Planning for Better Managed Retreat” with recommendations to improve relocation in the US with the goals of being financially feasible, community-led, and socioeconomically equitable. Read the report here!
Linda Shi, with colleagues Tisha Joseph Holmes and William Butler and others, recently published a study and a storymap that present the first-ever municipal fiscal impact assessment of sea-level rise in Florida and combine it with a statewide survey of coastal planners and managers. Learn more here!
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy recently released a new working paper “Toward the Next Mode of Practice for Climate Urbanism: Understanding and Preventing Greening-Induced Displacement” which explores the link between green climate urbanism and social equity, proposing a new practice aligned with climate justice that internalizes the goal of greening without displacement. Read the working paper here!