RAPID: Affordable Housing and Equitable Recovery: A Study of the 2013 Colorado Flash Floods

University Of Colorado At Denver-Downtown Campus, Denver CO

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract This RAPID grant funds the collection of data on housing recovery following the September 2013 flash floods in Colorado. The research results will inform better local, state, and federal disaster management policies and programs aimed at community recovery. The floods were the costliest disaster in Colorado state history, destroying more than 1,500 homes and triggering over $2 billion in economic loss. Low and moderately priced housing was particularly hard-hit, with hundreds of affordable units destroyed. Communities are struggling with decisions about where, when, and if to rebuild housing, while displaced residents are unable to return home because of the loss of affordable housing options. The investigators will collect detailed data on household and community decision-making at this crucial time of the disaster, in order to better understand the issues and challenges facing communities who have lost significant portions of their affordable housing stock. The fate of affordable housing is central to the character of long-term disaster recovery, however, existing research is unclear on the full range of variables that influence decisions about the reconstruction or replacement of affordable housing post-disaster. To identify these variables and understand how they affect recovery efforts, the research team will collect, analyze and disseminate data on housing recovery in three Colorado communities impacted by the 2013 flash floods. The project team will collect data in two distinct waves. Wave "I" will be a baseline survey of 100-120 households living in affordable housing prior to the disaster. Based on their analysis of the results of this baseline survey, the team will then recruit a sub-sample of respondents to take part in an in-depth interview for Wave "II" of the study. These interviews will allow for a richer understanding of the processes of displacement and how household losses complicate and disrupt daily living and, eventually, longer term recovery. To supplement the household survey and interviews, the team will interview key informants from local, state, and federal government and civil society. The study will provide much-needed insights into the dynamic nature of disaster recovery decision making at the individual and community scale, and will advance our scientific understanding of long-term disaster recovery.