In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the news media were fixated on the plight of middle-class homeowners in places like the Rockaways in Queens. But two new reports show that low-income renters were the more prevalent victims of the storm.
Matt Chaban discusses the findings of two new studies released this week - one by the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at NYU [PDF], the other by affordable housing developers Enterprise Community Partners [PDF] - that show "Sandy is more likely to have struck a low-income family that rents an apartment than a more well-off one that owns a home."
According to Chaban, the studies "found that of the 150,000 families who have applied for FEMA housing aid, 56% were renters, rather than homeowners. What's more it found that 61% of applicants make less than $60,000 a year, with half that group making less than $15,000 a year."
"'With almost 50% of households making $30,000 a year or less, this is a big deal,' said Shola Olatoye, vice president and New York market leader at Enterprise. 'These are low-income families already in need, and Sandy has made things so much worse.'"
"The authors of the studies hope that their data will help drive the policy debates to come," adds Chaban. "With tens of billions of dollars in federal aid at stake, they believe the money must be spent carefully, and may not even be enough to cover the recovery costs. After all, renters are not typically the ones with the insurance policies, so it can be hard to force a landlord to make repairs."
FULL STORY: Sandy hit the poor hardest in New York

Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Placekeeping: Setting a New Precedent for City Planners
How a preservation-based approach to redevelopment and urban design can prevent displacement and honor legacy communities.

San Francisco’s Muni Ridership Grew in 2024
The system saw its highest ridership since before the Covid-19 pandemic, but faces a severe budget shortage in the coming year.

Colorado Lawmakers Move to Protect BRT Funding
In the face of potential federal funding cuts, CDOT leaders reasserted their commitment to planned bus rapid transit projects.

Safe Streets Funding in Jeopardy
The Trump administration is specifically targeting bike infrastructure and other road safety projects in its funding cuts.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
City of Moreno Valley
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland