The Weekly: The Data Story Behind America’s Billion-Dollar Climate Disasters
Climate resilience is most visible in physical defenses and materials, but it relies on information infrastructure.
Active Construction Sites Are Climate Risk Blind Spots: Lessons from Hurricane Ian
In an interview with The Epicenter, Joe Rozza of Ryan Companies explains what happens when a major storm hits mid-construction and why CRE leaders should give as much weight to their works in process as they do to projects on either end of the building spectrum.
The Weekly: Climate Migration and the Resilience Belt
Extreme weather events and a changing climate are reshaping long-term housing affordability across America. The result is a migration pattern that would have shocked demographers a decade ago: people are leaving the Sun Belt and heading to the Rust Belt.
Why Remediation Is the First Step to Real Resilience
As the climate crisis exposes broader swaths of the U.S. to severe weather, responsible future-proofing strategies must account not only for fortified development but also for comprehensive cleanup. Real resilience can't exist without effective remediation first.
Rhode Island Offers a Blueprint for Financing Coastal Climate Resilience
Over the last 15 years, Rhode Island has seen cataclysmic inland flooding, tornadoes, and rapidly rising sea levels wearing away at its coast. But the state plans to be a safer, more stable place to live in 50 years.
Latest
The Weekly: The Data Story Behind America’s Billion-Dollar Climate Disasters
Climate resilience is most visible in physical defenses and materials, but it relies on information infrastructure.
The Weekly: Why Construction Sites Need Resilience Planning
Most conversations about climate resilience in commercial real estate development happen when designing new structures to withstand future storms or when repairing or retrofitting existing ones after disaster strikes. Far less attention is paid to the in-between stage: the active construction site.
The Weekly: The Real Infrastructure Behind the Cloud
From hurricane- and flood-prone coasts to Tornado Alley spanning the central U.S., the map of American data centers increasingly resembles a target board for extreme weather.
The Weekly: When Rainy Day Funds Run Dry
Two trends are colliding in state finance offices: Emergency, or “rainy day,” funds are shrinking at the exact moment climate-related revenue losses are mounting.
The Weekly: The Messy Math of Wildfire Mitigation Discounts
A recent analysis of the private market from Insurance for Good found that premium discounts for home hardening vary immensely, and often aren’t tied to the actual potential impact on losses.
The Weekly: New York City’s Blueprint for Flood Resilience
Last week, New York City experienced another round of flash flooding thanks to a violent downpour, highlighting a thorny question: When do you harden infrastructure against stormwater, and when do you work with it?
The Weekly: The Disaster Industrial Complex
3% of U.S. GDP is spent every year on preparing for and repairing from disasters.
The Weekly: Insurance Innovation That Rewards Risk Prevention
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Hazard briefings
Preparing for Multiple Disasters
Unexpected disasters are causing damage in unlikely places, forcing decision-makers in the public and private sectors to prepare for the most common disasters in their region as well as the rare, once-in-a-hundred-year ones. But strategies exist to help decision-makers prepare for the unexpected.
Earthquakes: Cost Drivers and Opportunities to Fortify Assets
Across the U.S., the average annual total costs of earthquakes is $14.7 billion, with the average earthquake costing between $1.5 to $3 billion. Adopting the latest seismic resilience codes can make buildings more earthquake-resistant and financial instruments can help communities rebuild quickly.
Winter Storms: The Cost Drivers and Associated Opportunities For Investors
There are no silver bullet solutions for the private sector to adopt to dramatically reduce the costs of winter storms. The biggest lever to bring costs down exists in modernizing and winterizing the grid—an endeavor that will require substantial technological, mechanical, and financial investments.
Severe Storms: Opportunities To Reduce the Costs
In just a few hours, a severe storm can cause billions worth of damage. Three levers offer opportunities to enhance resiliency and reduce the costs of severe storms: 1) Invest in more resilient roofing; 2) Adopt more resilient construction practices; 3) Invest in new innovations and technologies.
Public finance
The Weekly: When Rainy Day Funds Run Dry
Two trends are colliding in state finance offices: Emergency, or “rainy day,” funds are shrinking at the exact moment climate-related revenue losses are mounting.
Disaster Response Dilemma: Why Defunding FEMA Would Require Strengthening State and Local Resilience
A smart transition of FEMA toward state and local disaster responsibility would encompass 1) reform to the Stafford Act to rebalance federal and state contributions, 2) a restructuring of state disaster relief funds, and 3) a shift toward regionalization of disaster response.