Disparities in Impacts of Sea Level Rise in Under-Resourced Communities

Abstract

Sea level rise is affecting communities worldwide, though a focus is needed on which populations make up the coastal communities most impacted by this phenomenon. This research examines socio-economic disparities in three coastal cities, Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, and Urban Honolulu, Hawai‘i, relating them to projected effects of sea level rise. By combining U.S. Census data on low-income areas in the three coastal cities and ‘Poverty by Race’, with the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s “high poverty area” mappings, conclusions were drawn about the demographic composition of these vulnerable regions. Sea level rise projection data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were then used to create maps overlaying “high poverty areas” with sea level rise projections for 2100. The findings show that in low-lying areas most severely impacted by sea level rise, Black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian, and Native American communities are disproportionately represented, as they make up the highest percentages of low-income populations in the three coastal cities. Highest (and most likely) IPCC sea level rise projections for 2100 in Los Angeles, California, San Francisco, California, and Urban Honolulu, Hawai‘i, are 0.63 meters, 0.72 meters, and 0.91 meters, respectively, relative to a 2014-1995 baseline. When writing legislation for sea level rise mitigation and adaptation, addressing environmental racism is essential to ensure the policies take into account why Black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian, and Native American communities are more likely to live in high-impact areas, to produce equitable legislation.