There is a 90 percent chance that a home will be destroyed if an ember ignites on the building during a wildfire, according to post-fire investigations conducted by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS). IBHS leaders demonstrated how resilient building materials and landscape methods can avert damage, during a live fire demonstration during a ULI webinar hosted for 10 district councils in June.
As the impacts of climate change continue to intensify, households and business owners are increasingly looking to move out of harm’s way. A new ULI report, On Safer Ground: Floodplain Buyouts and Community Resilience, explores one method to facilitate these relocations: floodplain buyouts.
In early December, ULI members gathered virtually to discuss climate risk and real estate at the second annual Resilience Summit. The event’s agenda focused on how real estate and land use professionals can prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change, and where leadership could help shape better outcomes for the future.
ULI’s Urban Resilience team interviewed several public leaders in June to identify how U.S. cities are preparing for natural disasters during the COVID-19 pandemic. A key focus was how cities are providing resources to their most vulnerable residents, who are most at risk for both COVID-19 and climate emergencies.
ULI members are mobilizing their businesses to serve urgent needs in their communities. Many of these projects are focused on supporting health care workers on the front lines, as well as affected small-business owners.
In fall 2016, about 100 residents, business owners, and public officials came together to discuss the Franklin Canal in El Paso, Texas, the adjacent neighborhoods, and an opportunity to connect them: a proposed Active Transportation System (ATS) funded by the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). These community members were participating in an ULI Advisory Services panel, a weeklong workshop convened to develop a strategy for the “International Beltway” portion of the ATS.
