Unpacking the tradeoff between equity and climate resilience in U.S. housing policy

This brief comment reveals a salient and growing policy problem: the current U.S. housing policy regime creates tradeoffs between promoting equity and addressing climate risk. Drawing on the example of the recent Los Angeles fires, we point to two major problems. First, issues of affordability are pushing households to more climate-vulnerable areas, where risk is not properly priced. Second, local zoning and building codes can increase resilience, but at a higher cost. Such policies are often unpopular, especially in post-disaster recovery. We conclude by suggesting potential reforms to build more housing in lower-risk communities and to lower risks in more climate-vulnerable areas.