Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2019-12-23)

◼ ECONOMICS

38

MATIAS

DELACROIX/REUTERS

THEBOTTOMLINE CommutertownsNewRochelleandYonkers

areworkingtoluremillennialsawayfromNewYorkCitytoshoreup

theirtaxbasesandrevitalizetheirdowntowns.

ClimateChange

PrimedChileans

ForaRevolution

thatpoliciestocoola burningworldmustfoster

communityorfail.

Outside,demonstratorschanted,burnedbar-

ricades,andchargedatpolice.It wasthebegin-

ningofa socialexplosionthat’srockedtheSouth

Americannation,oneexacerbatedbytheunprec-

edenteddryspell.“Itallseemedprettytheoreti-

caluntilthen—transformation,climatechange—and

thenwewentoutside,andthereit was,”says

Moser,anexpertonadaptationandresilience.“It

wasanawakening,fromtalkingaboutit tobeingin

it—withtheteargasinyoureyes.”

Thetriggerforthedemonstrationswasdiscon-

tentwithinadequatepensions,health-care,and

educationsystems.Lessattentionhasbeenpaid

totheroleanextendeddroughtplayedinpriming

Chileansforaction.Worriesaboutaccesstowater

havebeenbubblingtothesurfaceina nationthat’s

gonefurtherthanalmostanyotherinprivatizingan

increasinglyvaluableresource.“Thedroughtleftus

thirstyforrevolution,”reada signata demonstra-

tioninSantiagoinOctober.

DuringthedictatorshipofGeneralAugusto

Pinochet,Chilebecameoneofthefirstcountries

intheworldtocedemanagementofitswaterutili-

tiestoforeigncompanies.ThePinochet-eraWater

Codeallowswaterrightstobeownedinperpetu-

ityandtradedasassets.Theframeworkhelpedfos-

terthedevelopmentofthemining,agribusiness,

andforestrysectors,butcriticssayit’sprivileged

theneedsofbusinessabovethoseofcommunities.

Thepopularconsensusinfavoroffreemar-

ketshasgrownbrittleoverthecourseofalmost

threedecadessincetheendofthedictatorship.

afford in Manhattan. In June the couple moved

into a one-bedroom unit in the new Apex Hudson

Riverfront tower, where they pay $2,100 a month,

plus $100 for parking. “The apartment is spacious,

it’s so calming here,” says Chilukuri. “If I want to

go to a restaurant or something and try a new cui-

sine, I’ll go to Manhattan instead of searching for

a restaurant in Yonkers. The train is only five min-

utes away.”

Officials in both towns say they’re working to

limit the impact of gentrification by creating hun-

dreds of units that would be affordable to the local

population. “There’s two options here: We stay the

way we were, in which case we all lose out,” Spano

says. “Or, we go out of our way to take advantage

of the economics. Bring the millennials here, get

the baby boomers that are empty-nesters now who

want to live with the millennials, and get that type

of activity in this community. We’re not displac-

ing anyone, because 90% of everything that’s been

built has been built on vacant property.”

But Cynthia Clarke, a 63-year-old retiree living

blocks from Yonkers’s new waterfront on a fixed

income of $840 a month, is worried. The cost of

living is already rising, she says, and she’s con-

cernedtheownerofhertwo-bedroomapartment

willmodernizethebuildingforthenextwave.“It’s

likethey’retryingtopusheverybodyout,”shesays.

“There’sreallynowheretogo.”�PrashantGopal

andVildanaHajric

▲ A pier on what used

to be Laguna de Aculeo

● A longdryperiodhashelpedsparka revolt

againsttheneoliberaleconomicmodel

Scientists and academics from around the world

gathered at Chile’s Museum of Fine Arts on the eve-

ning of Oct. 18 for the close of a three-day confer-

ence on climate change in a nation that’s endured a

decade-long drought. Under the glass dome of the

elegant Beaux Arts building, Stanford researcher

Susanne Moser warned in a keynote speech

● Chile

Santiago

Site of

Laguna

de Aculeo