Are Resiliency Plans Addressing Climate Change in an Equitable Way?

Climate change is a phenomenon that is beginning to have numerous implications for us as a society, one of which is that is furthering the divide between the “haves” and the “have nots.” Based on recent natural disasters, and particularly Hurricane Sandy which struck New York City in 2013, we can see that the impact of storms like this is greater for those residing in low income areas than for those who are well-off, and live in areas where resources are more readily available. In recent years, we have heard a great deal about the impact of climate change and associated initiatives for countries in the developing world. Essentially, these countries feel disadvantaged because their practices have not contributed to climate change yet they are being asked to participate in solutions that have economic consequences for them. But what about initiatives in the developed world and specifically, developed cities? When climate change related disasters strike there is little attention paid to the economic disparities and lower-income neighborhoods where citizens have less personal capacity to cope, and local support is less available. Rather, these populations are just grouped into the city