Why would you move to a polluted area? Green compromise in Coastal Sydney and Illawarra

In pursuit of greener and more affordable lifestyles, residents from Sydney are increasingly relocating to the scenic Illawarra coastal region. However, this shift is complicated by the area's legacy of soil and air pollution from historical and ongoing industrial activities and coal mines. Drawing on environmental justice and privilege literature, this study integrates insights of cultural and cognitive psychology to examine how residents rationalise their decisions. We conceptualise these dynamics as a green compromise, through which residents exhibit a series of cognitive biases where pollution is made invisible through limited information (availability bias), relativised compared to past experiences (anchoring bias), and normalised or minimised by integrating it into a mining-industrial identity. By adapting to and setting aside pollution, these “environmentally privileged” middle-income residents further reduce the pressure for monitoring and remediation, thereby contributing to the perpetuation of structural -socioeconomic and environmental- injustices. By linking cognitive biases with affordability and environmental risk perception, the study deepens our understanding of green gentrification in transitioning regions. It shows how cognitive processes shape environmental decision-making among relatively advantaged residents, highlighting their relevance for policymaking in industrial and energy transitions.