GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A draft of the city of Grand Rapids “Climate Action & Adaptation Plan” references the 2020 murder of George Floyd and the 2022 killing of Patrick Lyoya by a then-city police officer.
Citizens mentioned the environmental plan at the July 29 city commission meeting. A draft of the most recent plan was updated this month.
“Climate-related migration.”
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The plan mentions the controversial police-related deaths and says it is part of the inequities minorities have faced within Grand Rapids due to decades of racism.
“Michigan has the potential to see an increase in climate-related migration, which refers to the movement of people influenced by climate change,” the July draft states. “After the killing of Patrick Lyoya, the African immigrant community expressed grief that after immigrating to the United States to escape violence, they no longer felt safe or welcome in Grand Rapids.”
The environmental plan states that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) people are still suffering from environmental racism due to policies enacted as far back as the Great Depression, or 1937.
“Racist” redlining.
The draft states that inequities the BIPOC people face today within the city based on “racist” redlining still carries on. Redlining was a policy that was outlawed in the 1960s that ended up grouping minorities in the least-favorable areas of a city.
The document states that removing the “Indigenous” peoples from Grand Rapids was followed by “colonization” and “industrialization” that “are key contributors to the climate crisis we face today.”
The documents say that BIPOC residents today live in areas with more parking lots and fewer trees and “therefore more vulnerable to two of Grand Rapids key climate hazards: extreme heat and flooding.”
“Climate resilience.”
In addition, the draft discussed “climate resilience” and “encouraging a sense of ownership of greenspaces” and how “residents of color” in the city said they didn’t feel comfortable going to the city’s parks “due to police presence in parks.”
At least one resident is concerned with the city’s environmental plan.
“The adoption of many of the items contained in the plan as presented will serve to unnecessarily raise costs for tenants, landlords, and developers,” said Charlie Hoats, a Grand Rapids Realtor who sent an email to the city with his concerns. “At a time when construction costs are at an all-time high and housing is in short supply at all price points, a great deal of caution should be exercised when considering policy that would make real estate development more difficult and more costly for all concerned.”