Home is where the safer ground is: the need to promote affordable housing laws and policies in receiving communities

Abstract

Increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events are pushing communities to confront difficult decisions in order to protect people and infrastructure sitting in harm’s way. One decision is around managed retreat or the voluntary movement and transition of individuals and communities away from coastal and other climate-vulnerable areas. “Receiving communities” and other low-risk areas where people may choose to relocate must adopt a multi-pronged strategy that addresses the full breadth of services and resources that relocating residents will need in order to adapt to their new communities, such as in areas of health, education, and workforce development. A critical consideration for receiving communities is the provision of adequate and affordable housing for new residents, many of whom have been driven to relocate due to housing insecurity caused by climate change impacts. Climate change can contribute to housing insecurity in multiple ways, such as when insurance rates increase for low-income homeowners living in flood-prone areas, or when disasters destroy existing affordable housing stock. These impacts can trigger the displacement of individual households or entire communities, requiring local governments to plan ahead for community-centered housing solutions. This article (1) explores the affordable housing crisis in the USA and the compounding impacts of climate change; (2) analyzes the concept of receiving communities and the unique considerations for preparing and investing in affordable housing; and (3) recommends how local governments can use new and existing planning, funding, and legal tools to ensure an effective and inclusive housing strategy for receiving communities.