Resilient Housing and Communities

This briefing transcript from June 2020 features a discussion on enhancing housing and community resilience in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands following natural disasters like Hurricane Maria. Panelists Laurie Schoeman and Arturo Massol-Deyá discuss the critical role of affordable housing, distributed solar energy, and community-led initiatives in mitigating climate risks and reducing dependency on failing centralized power grids.

• Housing is often the first point of failure during storm events, particularly for low- and moderate-income communities that lack resources for maintenance and fortification. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, nearly 800,000 homes were lost, and Hurricane Maria substantially impacted almost 370,000 homes.
• The centralized power grid in Puerto Rico, managed by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), has proven unreliable during disasters. Following Hurricane Maria, some areas experienced power outages for months or years, and a subsequent 6.5 magnitude earthquake caused blackouts due to generation failure rather than transmission line damage.
• Community-led 'energy insurrections' and the deployment of distributed solar systems are presented as a means of achieving energy security and social transformation. Casa Pueblo in Adjuntas serves as a model, operating as an 'energy oasis' that provides power for critical medical equipment and community needs independently of government funding.
• The 'Keep Safe Guide to Resilient Housing and Design in Island Communities' provides a framework for mitigating three types of risks: atmospheric (high winds, droughts, fire, extreme temperature), land (erosion, landslides, earthquakes, subsidence), and water (heavy storm events, surges, tsunamis).
• Effective resilience requires a shift toward 'reparative restoration,' prioritizing investment in remote and underserved areas that are typically the last to receive government aid. This includes funding for weatherization and the creation of local workforces to maintain resilient systems, rather than relying on outside contractors who leave after the project is complete.
• Nature-based solutions and biodiversity are being integrated into community resilience through projects like Bosque Escuela, which uses the forest's natural cooling and energy-yielding properties as a model for residential energy efficiency and heat balance.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2020). Resilient Housing and Communities. https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_060320.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Resilient Housing and Communities. 2020. https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_060320.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Resilient Housing and Communities |date=June 2020 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_060320.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2020resilient, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Resilient Housing and Communities}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_060320.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }