Environment

CEER recruits residents to gauge their communities’ climate needs and to act as climate educators. Shelterforce asked Rita Robles and Carmen Cavezza about the program, how it works, and future plans.

Thirteen years ago, an ambitious government initiative set out to move hundreds of families away from perilous conditions, including landslides, in Ecuador’s capital. Today, 37 of those households are still waiting for the subsidies they need to become true owners of their new homes.

Thousands lost their homes in the Almeda and Marshall fires. Years into long-term recovery, a look at who received emergency assistance and who was left out can teach us a lot about which populations are most vulnerable to climate events.

As flooding, sea level rise, fires, and other climate impacts increase, we’ll need to move about 20 million Americans by 2100. Here’s how we can rethink managed retreat to get ahead of the rising tides.

There’s no one way to determine what makes “green” housing. Here’s a breakdown of the standards and considerations used by the affordable housing industry.

U.S. cities don’t provide residents with enough protection against heat, the deadliest weather-related killer in the world. But in NYC, one organization came together to distribute ACs to neighbors in need.

There’s no denying that affordable housing can be expensive to build. But we need to look at the long-term benefits of those investments to see the bigger picture.

Because their programs provide the most deeply affordable housing in the country, public housing authorities should be both supported in improving fair housing outcomes and held to account when they fall short.

Climate change is an especially large threat to low-income residents. The Inflation Reduction Act offers a chance to act.

How can we get more accessory dwelling units built, keep them affordable, and make them forces for increasing racial equity?

Policymakers and building designers have gone from pushing for energy efficiency to focusing on reducing carbon emissions by using more electrical-based systems. What are some of the benefits and challenges of going all-electric, and how can affordable housers move forward?

Holmdel, New Jersey, moved its affordable housing to flood-prone land, raising a question about planners’ ethical obligations to speak up against such moves.