Community resilience benchmarks: housing benchmark

Housing is often the largest part of rebuilding after an emergency or disaster. Having a resilient housing community and plans in place before something happens can ensure the quick and timely recovery of the community as a whole and the individuals at its core. Housing also is a key determinant of the social resilience of a community.

Housing performs a key function in communities. Many of the other community functions rely on safe, affordable, and resilient housing to support a workforce, provide a tax base, facilitate commerce, and reduce stresses on health care and educational systems. Safe housing enables communities to maintain economic continuity and a stable workforce throughout and after a natural hazard event. The safety, sustainability, resilience, and affordability of a community’s housing stock have a direct correlation to the community’s overall resilience and the ability of a community to prepare for current and future risks.

The Housing Benchmark covers all residential structures in a community, including single-family and multi-family structures. Additionally, the Benchmark addresses the differing housing needs of diverse groups, including residents with supportive housing needs, older residents, families, and congregant living facilities. The Housing Benchmark focuses on the availability of affordable housing, the quality of housing provided, the availability of shelter and transitional housing, and the continuity planning in place to ensure housing is available and maintained during a disaster. The performance of physical structures and the policies, practices, codes, and standards that support them are covered in the Buildings Benchmark. Considered another way, the Housing Benchmark is focused on the functions associated with a housing authority or housing department and related agencies (including planning and community development), whereas the Buildings Benchmark is primarily focused on the activities of a code department or building department.