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HomeSocietyUnseen Consequences: How California's Housing Crisis Heightens Vulnerability to Climate Calamities

Unseen Consequences: How California’s Housing Crisis Heightens Vulnerability to Climate Calamities

Researchers are currently embarking on an unprecedented study aimed at uncovering the factors, demographics, and trends driving development in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). This region, where residential areas are in close proximity to natural landscapes, leaves inhabitants more vulnerable to climate-related disasters, such as wildfires, floods, and landslides. An article outlines the anticipated findings from the research team and their motivations behind the study. The researchers aspire to highlight the links between the housing crisis and the climate crisis, as well as the connections between urban issues and conditions in other parts of the state.

In a recent article published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from UC Santa Cruz elaborated on the groundwork for their eagerly awaited study focusing on how the lack of affordable housing in California’s urban areas may be pushing development closer to wildlands, intensifying the effects of climate change.

Since the 1990s, California has seen a remarkable rise in WUI development, with over a third of the state’s households now located adjacent to or within natural spaces. Being so close to these wildlands increases the risk of climate-related calamities for WUI residents, such as fires, floods, and landslides. Furthermore, expanding WUI development not only heightens the chances of wildfires but also adversely impacts wildlife habitats and leads to longer commutes, contributing to increased greenhouse gas emissions.

Even as awareness grows regarding the dangers and scale of WUI development, the reasons for this trend remain unclear. UC Santa Cruz Sociology Professor Miriam Greenberg, the lead author of the new article, believes that incorporating perspectives and methodologies from the social sciences will shed light on this issue.

“Historically, most studies of the WUI have approached it through the lens of natural systems,” she explained. “Our research intends to show that environmental and ecological factors cannot be separated from urban and housing dynamics; they are all interconnected. We are thrilled to undertake primary research to better understand the drivers, demographics, and related dynamics of WUI growth, especially in light of the broader housing crisis.”

Greenberg pointed out that California is uniquely positioned, facing both the gravest housing crisis in the nation and unparalleled WUI growth rates. This context makes it an essential area for studying these interconnected issues.

For the ongoing research, the team is employing a mixed-methods approach that includes surveys, ethnographic interviews, and the integration of census data with WUI mapping and ecological data. An additional aspect of the study will investigate Indigenous land management practices, habitat restoration, and controlled burns in relation to WUI development. The research will take place along California’s Central Coast, an area known for its extremely high housing costs.

The project will collaborate with a diverse array of community partners and involve faculty and staff from both UC Santa Cruz and San Jose State University, including Associate Professor of Sociology Hillary Angelo and Environmental Studies Professor Chris Wilmers, who co-authored the article alongside Greenberg and UCSC Sociology graduate student Elena Losada.

The paper outlines three key predictions regarding trends the research team expects to identify within the WUI. Initially, they believe there has been a notable change in the reasons why people relocate to WUI areas. In the past, residents typically moved to these regions due to generational connections or a desire to be near nature. However, the researchers suggest that since the 1990s, housing affordability has emerged as the primary reason for an increasing influx of individuals seeking WUI living, as many Californians are forced out of urban environments due to the escalating housing crisis.

Demographic patterns may vary across different types of WUI areas, which themselves are influenced by political, economic, and environmental factors. For example, researchers suspect that WUI “interface” developments extending from cities toward wilderness areas will predominantly attract middle-income commuters. In contrast, more isolated development within wildland habitats, termed WUI “intermix” development, may exhibit pronounced economic disparities, encompassing luxurious estates for the wealthy, older modest homes, and informal living arrangements in trailers and vehicles.

The paper posits that the increasing migration driven by affordability concerns likely exacerbates overall inequality within the WUI, which, in turn, heightens the impact of climate change-related disasters. While all inhabitants of these regions face similar risks, disparities in wealth, time availability, and familiarity with local landscapes result in varied capacities to prepare for and rebound from disasters. Consequently, newer, lower-income residents moving to the WUI primarily for cost reasons may suffer disproportionately when disasters occur.

Overall, the authors of the paper expect their findings to underscore the importance of viewing the affordable housing crisis not only as a pressing social issue but also as a significant sustainability challenge requiring attention to shield communities from the effects of climate change.

Addressing this challenge necessitates the integration of housing and climate change planning and policy at local, state, and federal levels. The researchers also emphasize the necessity of combining social and natural sciences in research efforts on these topics, as expressed in the paper. Ultimately, they argue that the production and preservation of affordable housing and the safeguarding of tenants in urban settings are critical actions that influence sustainability, both within city limits and far beyond.

“It is crucial to broaden our understanding of urban sustainability since it extends beyond city boundaries,” stated coauthor Hillary Angelo, an Associate Professor of Sociology. “Without adequate affordable housing in urban areas, people are being pushed into riskier locations outside city limits, leading to injustices in cities and contributing to severe social and environmental repercussions elsewhere. Recognizing these connections is vital for achieving genuine sustainability.”