Giving Compass' Take:
- At Smart Cities Dive, Cailin Crowe cites housing affordability as one reason people continue to migrate to wildfire-prone areas in the U.S.
- How can we work to offer equitable wildfire relief to those in marginalized communities? What will it take for us to effectively mitigate damage from human-caused wildfires?
- Read on about the importance of addressing climate and forest management.
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Migration to wildfire-prone U.S. cities continues to rise despite an estimated 9.3 million acres of land that are expected to burn in the U.S. annually by 2050, according to new research by ClimateCheck.
Over half of the 20 areas most at-risk for wildfires have increasing populations, while six of those areas are among the top 15% of the fastest-growing counties in the U.S. The study was conducted by ClimateCheck economists and data scientists, combining "hundreds of data sources from the government and academia to provide individual ratings for every home" to create an overall risk rating for an assessment of climate hazards five to 40 years from now.
The study comes as the U.S. has struggled with a record-breaking year for wildfires, burning over 8.7 million acres throughout the U.S. to date. When asked why people continue to move into wildfire-prone areas despite the risks, ClimateCheck economic advisor Skylar Olsen said affordability is a key factor.
"We’re being forced to build in more places that are riskier because that’s where we can, and that’s what’s affordable," she said.
Housing affordability has become progressively worse over the past decade, according to Olsen. Millennials are reaching home-buying ages — adding pressure to housing markets — at the same time that many Baby Boomers are retiring. Those factors are pushing people "further and further out" from urban cores because that’s where the affordable homes or available land to build homes are located, according to Olsen.
And although many of those vulnerable areas have growing populations, she said the potential future inability to secure homeowner’s insurance or a mortgage on a property in these areas could start deterring individuals from moving there.
Read the full article about moving to wildfire-prone areas by Cailin Crowe at Smart Cities Dive.