The Conversation, March 19, 2024, How Ghost Streams And Redlining’s Legacy Lead To Unfairness In Flood Risk, In Detroit And Elsewhere
As the planet warms, severe rains – and the flooding that follows – may become even more intense and frequent in cities like Detroit that have aging and undersized stormwater infrastructure. These extreme events put enormous pressure on communities, but low-income urban neighborhoods tend to suffer the most
We found that flood risk was disproportionately distributed, with historically redlined neighborhoods bearing the greatest brunt of flood risk. Residents living in communities that were graded as “hazardous” (D) or “declining” (C) in the 1940s are today more susceptible to flood risk than the more affluent A and B communities. Over 95% of parcels classified at extreme flooding risk occur in C and D communities, with less than 4% in A and B communities.
