In Many Cities, Climate Change Will Flood Affordable Housing

A new report "examines how climate change will slowly drown a significant part of the nation’s already inadequate stock of subsidized and market-driven affordable housing," reports Patrick Sisson in CityLab.

"The number of units exposed to frequent flooding from 2000 to 2050 will triple. By mid-century, the report finds, the U.S. will lose 24,519 units due to repeated flooding, mostly concentrated in northeastern and mid-Atlantic states such as Virginia, Massachusetts and New Jersey," he writes.

"While the total number of units may, at first glance, not seem significant, the loss will be highly concentrated in certain states and cities: Charleston, South Carolina will see a 546% spike in flood-threatened units, rising to 349 by 2050. In New Jersey, nearly half of the stock of affordable housing units exposed to risk will flood at least four times a year by 2050. Miami Beach will witness a 1,074% increase in threatened housing, approximately 317 units," according to the article.