Affect in Resiliency Planning: A Conversation with Broad Channel

Abstract

Planning for climate change is more relevant than ever, as the earth continues to warm, sea levels rise, and no global policy or political will is in sight. In order to plan under hostile circumstances, it is of the utmost importance that planners turn our attention to the hyper-local scale, continuing momentum in our personal and professional relationships. In this thesis, I argue that centering affective experiences of place is essential in conversations about the future of places under climate change, especially in communities and neighborhoods resistant to the conversation about climate change’s impacts on their futures in the first place. This project focuses on Broad Channel, the only inhabited island community in New York City’s Jamaica Bay, which is on the front lines of sea level rise and tidal flooding in the city. I interviewed city leaders, community members, artists, planners, and activists to understand how we can move through and with affect when considering the future of a place. This can open up conversation about climate change previously inaccessible. These conversations also surfaced the need for planners to regroup and understand how their own affective positions impact difficult conversations about climate change. I offer these insights and recommendations for future resiliency planning work, reflecting both inward and outward.