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Cited by 33Urban Planning and GovernanceEnvironmental Justice and Health DisparitiesHousing, Finance, and Neoliberalism

Ecological Gentrification in Response to Apocalyptic Narratives of Climate Change: The Production of an Immuno-political Fantasy

Open access
Harper, Earl T.·2020·International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
DOI 10.1111/1468-2427.12842
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Abstract

Anxieties over the potential impacts of climate change, often framed in apocalyptic language, are having a profound, but little studied effect on the contemporary Western urbanscape. This article examines the ways in which current theorizations of ‘ecological gentrification’ express only half the process, describing how green space is used for social control, but not how ecology is used as a justification regime for such projects. As urbanites seek out housing and living practices that have a lower environmental impact, urban planners have responded by providing large‐scale regeneration of the urbanscape. With the demand for this housing increasing, questions of inequality, displacement and dispossession arise. I ask whether apocalyptic anxiety is being enrolled in the justification regimes of these projects to make them hard to resist at the planning and implementation stages. The article shows that, in capitalizing on collective anxiety surrounding an apocalyptic future, these projects depoliticize subjects by using the empty signifier, ‘Sustainability’, leading them into an immuno‐political relationship to the urbanscape. This leaves subjects feeling protected from both responsibility for, and the impacts of, climate change. Ultimately, this has the consequence of gentrification coupled with potentially worsening consumptive practices, rebound effects and the depoliticization of the environmentally conscious urbanite.

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71 of 71 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Climate urbanism interventions are often framed by narratives of climate collapse, implying that there is not enough time to engage citizens in participatory planning processes.

    “These interventions are often framed by narratives of climate collapse, implying that there is not enough time to engage citizens in participatory planning processes.”

    From Design for Climate Change in the Neoliberal Present: Gentrification, Ecocide, and the Loss of Urbanity in New York City (2022) · cites this paper as Harper 2020

    The Conclusions (page unavailable) say apocalyptic climate narratives can make otherwise unacceptable urban projects more palatable and that, when time is of the essence, urgency can help justify them. The Abstract also describes such projects as hard to resist during planning and implementation. Neither passage says that urgency is used to argue there is not enough time to engage citizens in participatory planning. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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  • Climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and projects cause the displacement of vulnerable populations.

    “Research has shown that climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and projects cause the displacement of vulnerable populations (Harper 2020;Dooling and Simon 2016;Gemenne et al. 2014).”

    From Design for Climate Change in the Neoliberal Present: Gentrification, Ecocide, and the Loss of Urbanity in New York City (2022) · cites this paper as Harper 2020

    The Conclusions link climate-change narratives and sustainable urban projects to gentrification and the displacement of vulnerable people. Harper frames this as a possibility (“could be driving”) and focuses on urban regeneration, rather than establishing that climate-change mitigation and adaptation policies and projects generally cause displacement. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • As sustainable agendas generate less opposition from those interested in a more ecologically friendly life, they may contribute to removing urban interventions under climate change from political debates.

    “As sustainable agendas generate less opposition from those interested in a more ecologically friendly life (Harper 2020), they may contribute to removing urban interventions under climate change from political debates.”

    From Design for Climate Change in the Neoliberal Present: Gentrification, Ecocide, and the Loss of Urbanity in New York City (2022) · cites this paper as Harper 2020

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. [36]36. Holloway, J. (2010) Crack Capitalism. Pluto Press, London and New York.
  2. [55]55. Rancière, J. (1999) Disagreement: Politics and Philosophy. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis and London.
  3. [57]57. Rancière, J. (2015) Dissensus: On Politics and Aesthetics. Bloomsbury, London, New Delhi, New York and Sydney.
  4. [70]70. Smith, N. (1996) The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and the Revanchist City. Routledge, London and New York.
  5. [85]85. Wilson, J. and E. Swyngedouw. (2015) Seeds of Dystopia: Post-Politics and the Return of the Political. In J. Wilson and E. Swyngedouw (eds.) The Post-Political and its Discontents: Spaces of Depoliticisation, Spectres of Radical Politics. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.

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Authors
Harper, E. T.
Affiliations
University of Bristol (GB)
Corresponding author
Harper, Earl T.
ORCID
Harper, Earl T.
Venue
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2019-10-23
Volume
44
Issue
1
Pages
55-71
ISSN
  • 0309-1317 (ISSN-L)
  • 1468-2427
DOI
10.1111/1468-2427.12842
OpenAlex
W2967897842
Semantic Scholar
40bdda32dccd9dccfd13c5a4febafdefad065c3f
Cited by
33
References
71
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 2
FWCI
10.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • International Journal of Urban and Regional Research (publishedVersion)
  • Explore Bristol Research (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban Planning and Governance
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Environmental Justice and Health Disparities
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Finance › Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism
Keywords
apocalyptic narratives, climate anxiety, empty signifier, sustainability discourse, urban regeneration, depoliticization, displacement, dispossession, housing inequality, green spaces, urban planning, rebound effect

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