{"692776":{"#nid":"692776","#data":{"type":"news","title":"After the Storm: When Recovery Creates a Community Crisis","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe storm ends, the fire goes out, floodwaters recede.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd, for some, the rent rises.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELong after a natural disaster fades from the headlines, economic aftershocks can still push people out of their communities, not because their homes were destroyed, but because they can no longer afford to remain there.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA new Georgia Tech-led study found that rents were 6.5% to 12.5% higher than expected four years after a disaster. Similar communities that weren\u2019t hit did not see the same jump.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/planning.gatech.edu\/people\/brian-an\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EBrian An, an associate professor in the\u0026nbsp;Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter\u0026nbsp;School of Public Policy within the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/a\u003E, and his team studied two decades of rental housing data and federal disaster records from California and Florida.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe often think of housing as a market that will sort itself out,\u201d An said. \u201cBut a natural disaster is not a normal market condition. Housing is destroyed. People are displaced. In those moments, renters can become especially vulnerable.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter a disaster, the housing market\u2019s usual rules no longer apply. Damaged apartment buildings mean reduced supply. Displaced homeowners enter the rental market while their homes are repaired or rebuilt. Construction, repairs, and insurance all get more expensive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe largest rent increases followed hurricanes and wildfires more than earthquakes, flooding, and tornadoes. For communities hit repeatedly, each new storm or fire added more rent pressure.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMore Demand, Less Room\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen rents go up after a disaster, we\u0027re not talking about a small segment of housing,\u201d An said. \u201cWe\u0027re talking about the broader rental market. That means the effects reach far beyond the homes that were damaged.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor renters, the consequences extend beyond monthly housing costs. Higher rents can make it harder for families to remain close to support networks. Children may have to change schools. Workers may face longer commutes. Longtime residents can find themselves priced out of communities they helped build.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe findings point to a central tension in disaster recovery: Rebuilding homes is not the same as keeping communities intact.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Different Path Home\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENot every community experienced the same outcome.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAreas that received federal support through Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds saw smaller rent increases than similar communities that did not. The money can be used to build and preserve affordable rental housing, giving residents more options as their communities recover.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn said the study cannot prove that funding alone caused rents to rise more slowly. But the pattern suggests that recovery resources may shape who can afford to stay in a community once rebuilding begins.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERebuilding Lives, Not Just Homes\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs communities face repeated hurricanes, wildfires, and other disasters, An believes policymakers need to think differently about recovery. That could mean investing in more resilient housing, expanding affordable rental options, and strengthening protections for renters after disasters strike.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEveryone needs a place to live,\u201d An said. \u201cAs disasters become more frequent, housing can\u0027t be an afterthought in recovery.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn\u2019s research is\u0026nbsp;published in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.rsfjournal.org\/content\/12\/4\/54\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"After hurricanes and wildfires, rebuilding homes is only part of recovery. Rising rents can decide who gets to come home, and who must leave."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENatural disasters can trigger \u003Cstrong\u003Elasting rent increases\u003C\/strong\u003E, pushing residents out even when their homes survive. A Georgia Tech-led study links disaster recovery to housing affordability and community stability. \u2022 Rents were \u003Cstrong\u003E6.5% to 12.5% higher\u003C\/strong\u003E than expected four years after disasters, especially following hurricanes and wildfires. \u2022 Communities receiving Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds saw smaller rent increases, suggesting affordable housing resources may help residents remain.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"After hurricanes and wildfires, rebuilding homes is only part of recovery. Rising rents can decide who gets to come home, and who must leave."}],"uid":"36410","created_gmt":"2026-09-23 14:12:47","changed_gmt":"2026-09-23 15:26:59","author":"mazriel3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681236":{"id":"681236","type":"image","title":"Hurricane Ian","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA Florida neighborhood destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, 2002.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1790171466","gmt_created":"2026-09-23 13:51:06","changed":"1790172479","gmt_changed":"2026-09-23 14:07:59","alt":"A Florida neighborhood destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, 2002.","file":{"fid":"265602","name":"Hurricane-Ian.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/23\/Hurricane-Ian.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/23\/Hurricane-Ian.png","mime":"image\/png","size":7741069,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/23\/Hurricane-Ian.png?itok=ZGnUGYDq"}}},"media_ids":["681236"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"}],"keywords":[{"id":"183592","name":"Andrew Young School of Public Policy Studies"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e8513f020972d2925520c5ad9e9cb50ef\u0022\u003EMichelle Azriel\u003Cbr\u003ESenior Writer-Editor\u003Cbr\u003EResearch Communications\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mazriel3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emazriel3@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["mazriel3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}