Partnering for More Resilient and Equitable Communities: Lessons from the Second Resilient Land Use Cohort

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The Resilient Land Use Cohort (RLUC) is a network of ULI district councils, member experts, and community partners in cities across the United States working together to identify strategies to be more resilient to the impacts of climate change and other vulnerabilities, including floods, extreme storms, drought, wildfire, and extreme heat, as well as the related social, environmental, and economic impacts. RLUC provides on-the-ground technical assistance through ULI’s flagship technical assistance models: Advisory Services Panels (ASPs) and Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs). These panels leverage ULI member expertise to advise on complex real estate and land use challenges related to climate resilience and equitable, sustainable development.

ULI’s Urban Resilience program convened the cohort regularly to share national best practices with expert speakers, provide cross-cohort networking opportunities, and discuss and support local implementation of resilience strategies. These virtual and in-person gatherings helped to broaden cohort participant knowledge of climate resilience strategies and policies, to amplify lessons learned from local TAPs and ASPs, and to inform implementation of next steps.

Beyond supporting resilience needs through technical assistance, the RLUC program sought to build long-term relationships with communities by supporting implementation of the panels’ recommendations and ongoing partnerships to further strengthen the resilience of these communities and other communities across the U.S. The Urban Resilience program offered implementation grants to fund activities that further RLUC panel recommendations and provide longer-term support to communities.

The outcomes, follow-up implementation activities, and key takeaways from the five RLUC2 panels and cohort from 2022 to 2024 are summarized below. More information about the cohort and its activities over time, including the final summary reports for the first and second cohorts, are available at americas.uli.org/resilient-land-use-cohort.

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Local Outcomes and Implementation Activities:

• ULI Colorado—Marshall Fire Recovery: ULI Colorado partnered with the City of Louisville and the Town of Superior to support the communities as they recover from the Marshall Fire and plan to enhance community resilience and affordable housing going forward. Their Advisory Service Panel (ASP) was hosted on March 14-17, 2023, and the final report is available here. An RLUC implementation grant will be used to support the Superior Disaster Recovery General Program and the Louisville Recovery & Resilience General Program implement activities recommended by the ASP.
  
• ULI Los Angeles—Building Resilience Ecosystems: A Model for Delivering Climate Resilience to All Communities: ULI Los Angeles partnered with the US Green Building Council of Los Angeles to support the development of a network of resilience hubs in vulnerable communities around the City of Los Angeles. Their TAP was hosted on April 20-21, 2023, and the final report is available here. Building on the lessons of the ULI Los Angeles TAP, the RLUC implementation grant will support the neighboring community of San Bernardino in building a resilience hub in the Arrowhead Grove community and developing plans for a larger, citywide resilience ecosystem.
  
• ULI New York—A Path to Small Home Flood Resilience in Brooklyn, New York: ULI New York partnered with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the New York City Department of City Planning to develop a program to address the flood resilience needs of 1-4-unit family homes in NYC. The TAP was hosted on May 9-10, 2023. Implementation funding will be used to support activities identified by HPD that align with the TAP recommendations.
  
• ULI Louisiana—A Healthier Community for Generations to Come in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward: ULI Louisiana partnered with Sankofa Community Development Corporation to identify catalytic opportunities that can enhance resilience and equitable community development in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. Their TAP was hosted on March 23-24, 2023, and the final report is available here. The RLUC implementation grant will support the development of a pollinator habitat on vacant 100’ x 30’ lots on Tennessee Street, near the Sankofa People’s Community Garden. The project will engage community members in the design, development, and ongoing maintenance of the habitat, ensuring that the project empowers residents and honors the history of the Lower Ninth Ward community.
  
• ULI Philadelphia—Exploring Pathways to Community Safety and Restorative Justice in Eastwick, Philadelphia: ULI Philadelphia partnered with the City of Philadelphia Office of Sustainability and Eastwick United Community Development Corporation to evaluate land swaps as a flood resilience solution for homes in flood zones in Eastwick. Their Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) was hosted on Nov 3-4, 2022, and the final report is available here. The RLUC implementation grant will be used to establish a dedicated “Eastwick Resilience Fund” to support residents in Eastwick enact strategies to reduce the risk and impact of flooding on personal property and belongings in the near term. Funds can also be used to support professional services that will lead to a long-term equitable solution to relocate and rehouse impacted neighbors in a way that is congruent with resident goals.

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Key Takeaways and Lessons Learned from the Cohort:

Based on recommendations and themes that came out of each of the RLUC2 panels, the Urban Resilience program synthesized key takeaways and lessons learned from the cohort. The following takeaways can be applied to communities across the U.S. and the broader ULI network.

1. Work on equitable resilience and restorative justice should take place in collaboration with the community.

“Increasing equity is critical to achieving resilience. Pursuing equity means purposefully addressing racial, social, environmental, and economic injustices to build stronger communities and to support the most vulnerable communities in reducing risk.” - Ten Principles for Building Resilience by ULI

From increased flooding to extended droughts and extreme heat, the changing climate poses severe threats to cities and communities, especially communities that have been historically marginalized by land use decisions. Low-income communities and communities of color face disproportionate risk: for example, neighborhoods that were subject to redlining are more likely to experience both extreme heat and flooding. And low-income households are also more likely to face financial and logistical challenges in recovering from the disruption of a major climate event such as a hurricane.

Community-based organizations are actively addressing these challenges. Many are focused on helping residents be more prepared for the impacts of climate change and advocating for resilient land use solutions such as flood-ready parks, community resilience hubs, green stormwater infrastructure, and affordable housing designed to withstand future climate events. These investments will bolster neighborhood and citywide preparedness for disaster events, support access to housing, and enhance quality of life. The real estate and land use sectors have important roles to play in designing, funding, and delivering this much-needed future infrastructure and development.

RLUC2 matched district councils and ULI members with community-based organizations (CBOs) to address these pressing climate and equity challenges. The program provided grants to partnering CBOs to participate in the cohort and help direct local panels and activities. The result was that the panels’ recommendations and the following activities align with local communities’ needs related to equitable climate resilience and restorative justice.

As vulnerable and low-income communities face unprecedented risk of impact from extreme events, a variety of strategies enhance equity and build resilience:

• Earlier dialogue. Vulnerable and low-income community members should be a key part of resilience conversations from the very beginning of the resilience planning and decision-making process. Their input can help community leaders and public decision makers define the full extent of the vulnerabilities faced, and craft realistic solutions.
  
• Inclusive decision making. When decision makers are representative of the communities they serve, disadvantaged and low-income communities are more likely to receive solutions that accurately respond to their needs.
  
• Additional resources. Planning for extreme events should assume that low-income and disadvantaged communities will need additional resources to cover preventative measures that should be taken prior to extreme events, such as preparing homes for incoming storms, and higher-than-average resources to recover from the impacts of extreme events.
  
• Prioritized investments. Investments in infrastructure and mitigation should prioritize the safety and security of low-income individuals and communities of color that are most in harm’s way.
  
• Double-bottom-line solutions. Resilience resource allocations and investments should affirmatively seek to provide other quality-of-life or economic development opportunities, or co-benefits, in addition to their resilience benefits.

In each of the five cohort engagements, community-based organizations played a critical role and proved invaluable in clarifying the nature of the resilience challenges community members face. These same organizations can also provide continuity in the work for the long run, convening community members around the recommendations delivered by each panel and working with the applicable public sector entities to help ensure that the work is supported and funded.

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2. Resilience hubs are a locally adaptive solution for vulnerable communities.

“Although adapting to the shocks of climate change often brings to mind investment in built or natural infrastructure such as seawalls or living shorelines, pairing that investment with spaces that foster social cohesion and community well-being to minimize stresses can magnify the benefits.” – Social Spaces, Resilient Communities by ULI

Community resilience is increasingly supported in cities and neighborhoods through the provision of resilience hubs. These community-centered facilities provide critical central gathering spaces for the community, both in the everyday and in times of climate shocks or disasters. The resilience hub can be adapted to the specific needs of the local community, serving as a central point of contact for resource distribution and recovery information, a place to receive training in disaster response protocols, and even a renewable energy resource for charging phones and other electronic devices when the power grid fails.

Resilience hubs can be purpose-built or, as in the case of the Los Angeles Boyle Heights Resilience Hub, can make use of existing community structures, leveraging centralized facilities already known for community gatherings and information and resource distribution. Investing in and further supporting places where community members already gather can enhance the health and vitality of the community, improving the spaces they frequent and shoring up the asset to become a critical hub of communication, resource distribution, and haven of safety for community members when shocks occur.

Community-centered resilience hubs and resilience ecosystems can provide community members with the support and resources needed to be prepared for and recover quickly from the stresses and shocks related climate change and social inequities. A growing partnership between ULI and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network will soon deliver more resilience hub content to communities across the country.

3. Move from disaster recovery to prevention

“A shift from post-disaster recovery to prevention, resilience and risk reduction needs investment to save lives, livelihoods and money, and protect against damages.” – World Economic Forum

Historically, the U.S. has focused on disaster recovery, replacing what was there before the disaster, rather than prevention. While every effort should be made to help communities recover from climate disasters, efforts to prevent future disasters deserve equal attention. Through greater prevention efforts, less rebuilding will be required. Although communities may not be able to prevent the next coastal storm or wildfire, where and how those communities choose to build new homes, businesses, and neighborhoods can positively impact the health, safety, and resilience of those communities. To support thriving, diverse communities, future disaster prevention should take center stage.

The five RLUC2 communities closely studied what, where, and how today’s resilience measures can reduce the risk of future disasters and lessen the need for heroic and costly recovery efforts. In Colorado, the communities of Louisville and Superior are considering how building materials and landscaping selections can help curb the spread of wildfire across neighborhoods—and how the public sector can support these safer materials selections through recommendations or, in some cases, mandates.

In Eastwick, residents are advocating for new construction in areas that are on higher elevations and on ground that has not been filled and will prove more stable in the long term. Knowing that this approach is not a quick fix, but is the right solution, the panel also outlined a series of steps the community can take to better prepare homes to withstand flooding in the near term. The monumental task of flood-proofing the homes of Brooklyn’s coastal neighborhoods will also take years, therefore measures to prevent property damage and loss in the meantime are critical.

Zoning measures that would limit the occupation of basement apartments will help prevent the loss of life in future flood events and raising air handling units and other utilities above the base flood elevation will help households remain comfortable and resilient when storm surge recurs. For the Lower Ninth Ward, the panel recommended expanding the Sankofa Wetland Park and Nature Trail, which will provide additional stormwater management opportunities and help protect residents and structures from future coastal flooding

4. Resilience and housing affordability are both needed.

“Climate gentrification, or the process by which affluent populations move away from historically high-value yet vulnerable areas and move inland, is becoming a concern among low-income communities that are not located in vulnerable parts of cities… Fears of displacement—both physical and cultural—are part of a larger conversation about preparedness, climate change, and housing affordability.” –Ten Principles for Building Resilience by ULI

Climate gentrification, or the process by which affluent populations move away from historically high-value yet vulnerable areas and move inland, is becoming a concern among low-income communities that are not located in vulnerable parts of cities… Fears of displacement—both physical and cultural—are part of a larger conversation about preparedness, climate change, and housing affordability.

Building household and community resilience while maintaining housing affordability was an important challenge addressed by each of the five panels. Communities that have been historically marginalized by historic land use decisions often experience greater degrees of distress during disasters and difficulty in the recovery process. These challenges exacerbate existing household financial challenges, making it stressful to rebuild, challenging to access critical financial resources to support a rebuilding effort, and difficult to maintain a sense of community if forced by economics to move out of the neighborhood for more affordable accommodations.

Following the Marshall Fire in Colorado, supply and demand pressures pushed rental rates and property values higher as significant numbers of rental properties, including naturally-occurring affordable housing, were destroyed by the fire. This impacted everyone but has particularly impacted the area’s most vulnerable populations. The ASP recommendations called for zoning updates in both communities, allowing accessory dwelling units and transfer of development rights, to provide opportunities for additional housing units and density. Other measures, such as municipal purchase of infill lots for deed-restricted affordable housing and splitting large lots into two or more parcels, can also support affordable housing production.

In the Lower Ninth Ward, community members were highly attuned to the need to maintain housing affordability in the neighborhood. As community members who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina seek paths to return to the neighborhood, residents are keen to support the return of their neighbors. The panel noted the importance of rental opportunities in the neighborhood, as an easier first step toward eventual homeownership, and the addition of owner-occupied doubles or duplexes back into the neighborhood fabric. The doubles provide homeowners with a unit for their occupation as well as a unit for rent, which can help offset some of the mortgage expense, support wealth generation, and increase the supply of rentals for returning families.

The pursuit of affordability and enhanced resilience was a focus of the panel’s work in South Brooklyn as well. Recommendations to the city will help prioritize which community members should receive the greatest degree of flood assistance, and the panel also stratified the types of assistance that would be most beneficial to each group identified. This ability to uplift creative solutions that center those most in need created a roadmap for city agencies as they begin to address the monumental task of building resilience for the tens of thousands of homes in the coastal floodplain.

Conclusion

Moving forward, the district councils and communities that have participated in RLUC continue to build on their momentum to help make their communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change. So far, RLUC has already garnered enduring impact in communities, built local capacity, and fostered meaningful relationships across sectors and geographies.

Climate-fueled disasters can change a community overnight, and building lasting climate resilience takes time. Communities across the U.S. can begin to leverage the learnings from RLUC to better prepare, build resilience, and advance social equity for long-lasting climate resilience that has the potential to positively impact communities for generations to come.

Funding for RLUC was provided through the ULI Foundation with support from JPMorgan Chase.