A spatial analysis of climate gentrification in Orleans Parish, Louisiana post-Hurricane Katrina

Background

Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans, Louisiana as a Category 3 storm in August 2005. Storm surges, levee failures, and the low-lying nature of New Orleans led to widespread flooding, damage to over 70% of occupied housing, and evacuation of 80–90% of city residents. Only 57% of the city's black population has returned. Many residents complain of gentrification following rebuilding efforts. Climate gentrification is a recently described phenomenon whereby the effects of climate change, most notably rising sea levels and more frequent flooding and storm surges, alter housing values in a way that leads to gentrification.

Objective

To examine the climate gentrification following hurricane Katrina by (1) estimating the associations between flooding severity, ground elevation, and gentrification and (2) whether these relationships are modified by neighborhood level pre- and post-storm sociodemographic factors.

Methods

Lidar data collected in 2002 were used to determine elevation. Water gauge height of Lake Ponchartrain was used to estimate flood depth. Using census tracts as a proxy for neighborhoods, demographic, housing, and economic data from the 2000 decennial census and the 2010 and 2015 American Community Survey 5-year estimates US Census records were used to determine census tracts considered eligible for gentrification (median income