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Leveraging FEMA hazard mitigation funding to preserve affordable housing in climate-vulnerable communities: a narrative policy review
Resource type
Authors/contributors
- Hilliman, Miracle (Author)
- Egbubine, Linda (Author)
- Xonu, Emmanuel (Author)
- Eke-okocha, Nnaemeka (Author)
- Peteranaba, Sylviastella (Author)
Title
Leveraging FEMA hazard mitigation funding to preserve affordable housing in climate-vulnerable communities: a narrative policy review
Abstract
Climate change is increasingly destabilizing affordable housing systems by transforming occasional disaster-related damage into a persistent driver of housing loss and displacement. Low-income households and renters are disproportionately exposed to climate-related hazards because historically affordable housing has often been developed in areas vulnerable to flooding, extreme heat, and wildfires. In the United States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administers major climate adaptation initiatives through its Hazard Mitigation Assistance programs. Although these programs are primarily designed to reduce disaster risk and financial losses, their broader implications for housing affordability and community stability remain insufficiently examined. This narrative policy review synthesizes interdisciplinary research on disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, housing affordability, and equity governance to examine how FEMA hazard mitigation funding influences affordable housing outcomes in climate-vulnerable communities. The review finds that widely used mitigation strategies, particularly property acquisition and demolition, can unintentionally reduce the supply of affordable housing and displace tenants without guaranteeing replacement housing. In contrast, in-situ mitigation and community-scale resilience measures that could preserve housing stability are less frequently implemented. Institutional barriers further complicate the integration of housing affordability goals within hazard mitigation policy. These barriers include benefit–cost analysis frameworks that undervalue social outcomes, fragmented governance between emergency management and housing institutions, and short planning horizons that overlook long-term housing impacts. By synthesizing these insights, the article reframes hazard mitigation as an investment in social infrastructure and proposes a housing-centered framework for climate adaptation policy. The findings highlight that preserving affordable housing and preventing displacement must become central objectives within hazard mitigation strategies to ensure equitable and effective climate resilience. Without housing stability, climate adaptation programs risk exacerbating the very vulnerabilities they are intended to address.
Publication
Journal of Environment Climate and Ecology
Date
2025-12-27
Volume
2
Issue
2
Pages
192-201
Citation Key
hillimanLeveragingFEMAHazard2025
ISSN
3079-255X
Citation
Hilliman, M., Egbubine, L., Xonu, E., Eke-okocha, N., & Peteranaba, S. (2025). Leveraging FEMA hazard mitigation funding to preserve affordable housing in climate-vulnerable communities: a narrative policy review. Journal of Environment Climate and Ecology, 2(2), 192–201. https://doi.org/10.69739/jece.v2i2.1701
Department
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