Join us online in November for the 2026 SBAN Summit on Preventing Climate Displacement! Co-hosted by the Gentrification & Urban Displacement Lab at the Boston University Initiative on Cities, the summit will focus on equitable climate resilience and recovery strategies that keep small businesses in place. We’ll convene online November 12 and 13, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET each day.

Climate displacement is increasingly affecting vulnerable communities and small businesses across the U.S. and globally. Climate disasters, the long-term effects of climate change, and climate adaptation or mitigation strategies can also kickstart or compound gentrification. BIPOC- and immigrant-owned small businesses in low-wealth neighborhoods are particularly vulnerable to climate disasters and displacement.

Small businesses have struggled to recover in the wake of recent fires, floods, and other disasters, due in part to barriers to accessing aid, insufficient insurance, and inadequate resilience preparations. While many cities and communities are investing in climate resilience and disaster planning, the needs of small businesses are often peripheral to—or missing entirely—from these plans.

Please contact Alejandra Gonzales Ariza at sban@umd.edu with any questions.