1 minute read[Editor’s note: Wildfires in Los Angeles. Hurricanes across Florida and the Southeast. Floods, extreme heat, and severe weather events are no longer rare occurrences—they’re becoming the new normal. The homebuilding and residential development industries face an urgent reckoning: how to build homes, neighborhoods, and communities that can withstand the increasing severity of climate-related natural disasters. The Builder’s Daily is launching Building Resilience, an ongoing series that examines the choices, challenges, and solutions shaping the future of resilient housing. Through interviews with experts, frontline builders, policymakers, and affected homeowners, the series will spotlight what’s working, what’s not, and what’s at stake when rebuilding after disaster strikes.
Contributing editor Rick Lawson reports from California, where Los Angeles-area communities are grappling with how to rebuild after wildfires destroyed more than 16,000 structures. Residents and leaders want to move quickly—but at what cost to future safety?]
In the 1990s, Bruce Lander bought a home in Altadena, California, which was mainly built using steel. The home, constructed in 1972, survived the January Los Angeles fires, which destroyed some 16,000 structures.
Lander We are now working on three syndicate approaches to rebuild efforts to rehouse people who are homeless,” O’Brien said, adding that the projects represent a pipeline of over 3000 homes. “We’ve made significant progress, land is secured, funding is in place, and our housing specifications and production plan are ready to go.” She said the company is working through the final steps in the approval process. We’re hopeful that an expedited pathway for emergency housing could help move things forward, allowing us to bring much-needed homes to the community as quickly as possible,” O’Brien said.
