Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
In the last few weeks, we’ve talked about towns that are creating plans to prepare for rising waters. Today, we’re taking a look at an example of what can happen when that planning is too slow. What should cities do when people want to leave because of climate-related disasters?
We had Janek Schaller and Emily Tom look into it.
Janek Schaller: Hi Megan!
Emily Tom: Thanks for having us.
Megan Hall: In our other episodes about coastal retreat, we’ve talked about towns preparing for rising sea levels. But what happens when the water has already risen and people want to leave their old neighborhoods?
Janek Schaller: To find out, we talked to Joe Tirone. Ten years ago, Hurricane Sandy destroyed his home in Staten Island He then led an effort asking the state government to buy out their entire neighborhood.
Joe Tirone: “I guess you could refer to me as the leader of the Oakwood Beach Buyout Committee.”
Megan Hall: Let’s take a step back. What exactly was a buyout in this context?
Emily Tom: Basically, people whose homes are destroyed by a massive storm— petition the government to buy their property at pre-storm value. This allows residents to move out of areas threatened by climate change.
Janek Schaller: Tirone, along with a few other residents of Oakwood Beach, formed a committee. They wanted to gather information about government buyouts and spread the word to their neighbors.
Joe Tirone: “And I was convincing to these people, it was one on one thing, you know, we had our committee, and the committee was great, because five out of the eight people live there for up to, one was over 50 years.”
Emily Tom: And it worked. Just three months after Sandy, the state responded to the committee’s requests and launched a program to buy properties that had been destroyed by the hurricane.
Janek Schaller: In 2012, Oakwood Beach became the first community to take advantage of New York State’s post-Sandy buyout program. And the approach was incredibly popular. In a community of 185 people, all but 5 applied for the program.
Joe Tirone: “I always refer to it as a miracle buyout because it’s just like it’s overwhelming… I did not expect every hand to raise in this auditorium.
Megan Hall: That sounds incredible. What did it take for them to get there?
Emily Tom: Well, the community didn’t plan on leaving, but Hurricane Isaac and Hurricane Irene had already worn them down.
Joe Tirone: “Sandy was the knockout punch, it was like, I don’t want to be here anymore. It’s not safe.”
Janek Schaller: By then, many residents wanted to relocate, and the government supported them. It wasn’t an easy decision, but they felt strongly that it was the right one.
Joe Tirone: “It was grandparents living across the street from grandchildren, you know, they were there for 20, 30, 40, 50 years. But because of those series of events, they completely had it.”
Emily Tom: That’s what makes a buyout different from managed retreat. Managed retreat is a way to prepare for a disaster. A buyout happens afterward when homes are destroyed.
Janek Schaller: While the community effort in Oakwood was incredible, not every neighborhood will have the same opportunity or access to federal aid.
Emily Tom: According to an investigation by NPR, federal disaster aid is given out using a cost-benefit analysis. That means the money is usually given to people whose properties are worth more, not necessarily people who need it most.
Janek Schaller: And that same report found that white communities are disproportionately more likely to receive federal buyouts than communities of color. Most of the buyouts occurred in neighborhoods that were more than eighty-five percent white.
Megan Hall: So, what’s the takeaway here?
Janek Schaller: Although Oakwood Beach successfully advocated for a buy-out, this approach is only possible for a small number of communities, and those buyouts are not always given out equitably.
Emily Tom: And on top of that, as climate change gets worse, we’ll need solutions that are more proactive. We can’t buy out every property affected by rising waters.
Megan Hall: Got it. Thank you, Janek and Emily.
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Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio, Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society and Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative
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