IS CLEVELAND’S VISION OF A “GREEN CITY ON A BLUE LAKE” A PATH FOR SOCIAL EQUITY OR GREEN GENTRIFICATION?

After decades of economic decline and environmental degradation, the city of Cleveland, Ohio, is experiencing a mild renaissance through greening and other revitalization efforts. Yet, by catering to and benefiting mostly wealthier, white residents, some environmental amenities seem to be perpetuating long-standing racial inequalities. Can a majority-African American, post-industrial, recovering city like Cleveland address its historic environmental inequities without reproducing the negative effects of environmental gentrification 1 observed in so many other cities? In the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood, despite a long history of exposure to environmental toxics, resident- and activist-driven projects may offer some clues on how community-focused green developments might avoid the onset of green gentrification.