Document / Publication
Source(s):
Climate Central
Affordable housing serves as a lifeline for millions of individuals and families in the United States. Stable, secure housing is known to support better health outcomes, economic mobility, and employability. But there is a severe shortage of homes that are affordable or available to low-income renters. Scientists at Climate Central analyzed the risk coastal flooding poses to affordable housing—both subsidized and naturally occurring—as sea levels rise. They found that more than 7,600 apartments, townhomes, and houses nationwide are currently exposed to at least one “coastal flood risk event” in a typical year, and more than 24,500 units may be so threatened by 2050.
The combination of physical vulnerability of affordable housing, socioeconomic vulnerability, and more frequent flooding due to sea-level rise presents a triple threat within the next 30 years to residents and owners of the country’s already scarce affordable housing.
Key concept
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