Biden can make disaster recovery equitable
After this latest disaster, it’s easy to say that it was an “equal opportunity” storm. Homes in River Oaks were without power, just like homes in Independence Heights. People from all walks of life experienced similar kinds of suffering during the winter storm as we lost essential utilities and feared for our families’ most basic needs.
As people across the community rallied to provide immediate help to one another through mutual aid, state leaders remained conspicuously absent, while the federal government responded with an emergency declaration. But as Houstonians know far too well, this type of declaration does not always spell relief. More than any other city in the country, Houston knows that disasters will hit some communities much harder than others.
After visiting Houston on Friday to discuss federal recovery efforts, Biden should pay particular attention to the racial inequities of this type of disaster.
For low-income Black and Latino communities, even a medium-sized storm can spell disaster on top of the ongoing burden of structural racial inequality. A study by Rice University and University of Pittsburgh found that between 1999 and 2013, natural disasters increased Houston’s racial wealth gap by $87,000. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, after Hurricane Harvey, white residents of higherincome Houston neighborhoods received an average of $60,000 in FEMA assistance, while Black residents in lowincome neighborhoods received just $84.
The failures of our disaster recovery system also reinforce housing segregation. The formulas the federal government relies on for allocating funding for infrastructure repairs preferences projects in high-income areas with high housing values. The lack of investment leaves residents in low-income neighborhoods more vulnerable in future storms, while also driving down home values.
Since 2015, Houston has experienced eight federally declared major disasters. When the winter storms hit, many Houstonians, and especially those who live in low-income communities of color, were still awaiting repairs from 2017’s Hurricane Harvey.
Biden can stop this cycle and address racial inequity in disaster recovery. Here are four things the Biden administration can do now to address the legacy of racial inequity in disaster recovery in Houston’s recovery from Uri:
Require FEMA to prioritize low-income communities for access to its recovery programs. Houstonians at all income levels know how complicated and frustrating it can be to navigate multiple federal programs from agencies like FEMA, but the barriers are even more daunting for lower-income survivors. Already, the communities we work with in the HOME Coalition are reporting that they are being summarily denied by FEMA. Without access to the internet, even applying to the program is difficult, especially for people who do not speak English. These barriers to entry on the front end will extend the pain of this recovery if they are not addressed.
Encourage the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas to prosecute landlords who violate the CDC eviction moratorium. Even while millions of Houstonians were without power and water last week, there were 126 eviction hearings scheduled. Judges in Houston have continued to hear eviction cases throughout the pandemic. Housing stability should be a goal during disaster recovery. The U.S. attorney in Rhode Island has set up a hotline to report violations of the eviction moratorium and the U.S. Justice Department in Texas should do the same.
Restructure infrastructure programs to direct resources to historically under-invested areas. Currently, the federal government uses a “costbenefit” formula to allocate resources for major remediation projects. This results in projects in highincome areas simply because home values are higher. The administration should develop a new formula that directs resources towards urgent infrastructure needs in low-income communities.
Include disaster recovery as a pillar of the administration’s racial equity agenda. In her role as the director of the Domestic Policy Council, Susan Rice should spearhead an effort to fundamentally address the major fixes that will be required to meet the challenges of more frequent disasters that disproportionately impact low-income Black and Latino communities. This effort should include opportunities for input from directly impacted communities in Houston. Biden should recognize that a toxic combination of structural racism and economic inequality has produced a disaster recovery system that, by design, excludes low-income communities and communities of color, while advantaging white property owners and wealthy communities. In Houston, we need a different kind of recovery from Uri. Biden can make it happen.