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ABSTRACT
Climate change poses many threats to residential communities throughout the United States, including by contributing to the increased intensity and duration of disasters like hurricanes and other weather events. Government housing policies may either reduce or amplify vulnerability to storm damage. This article explores how state governments guide affordable housing development to address the risk and damage from hurricanes through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Using document review, we examine LIHTC plans for states most severely and less severely affected by major hurricanes in the past 20 years by comparing plans before and after a hurricane event. The results indicate that severely affected states make relatively few changes to their plans after a hurricane, compared with neighboring less affected states, regarding siting and location, construction techniques, disaster preparedness, or other storm-related responses. The findings suggest a missed opportunity to redirect affordable housing resources to better protect vulnerable residents from the risks of climate change.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the Journal editor, special issue editors, and anonymous reviewers for helpful comments.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Shomon Shamsuddin
Shomon Shamsuddin teaches at Tufts University.
Ginger Leib
Ginger Leib recently graduated with an MA degree from the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts. Her research interests include housing policy, transportation policy, and environmental justice.