{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/137566"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/137566","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Public Housing on Risky Ground: A National Study of Flood Risk and Two Case Studies Investigating the Legacy of Environmental Inequality","abstract":"This dissertation investigates whether residents of U.S. rent-subsidized housing are exposed to natural hazards, including flooding and sinkholes, and how they can be protected. Using a multilevel model, the first study finds that census tracts with higher concentrations of subsidized housing have greater exposure to flooding, particularly in inland regions and especially in inland Alaska. The second and third studies each use a combination of qualitative methods, including elite interviews, document analysis, observation, and archival research, to examine two local housing authorities undertaking mitigation efforts for aging properties at imminent risk. In Spencer, West Virginia, due to the scarcity of developable land, public housing was built at the confluence of two creeks. After two major floods that forced tenant evacuation, flood insurance rate hikes prompted the housing authority to pursue floodproofing solutions. In Frederick, Maryland, public housing sited on low-lying, sinkhole-prone land through urban renewal and racial segregation pressures is being torn down and rebuilt with deep foundations using Low Income Housing Tax Credits, which requires private investment interests in the neighborhood. These cases reveal how historical siting decisions formed environmental inequality in public housing and how decision-making around mitigation is a complex process. Disasters can act as focusing events, generating the political will to implement known mitigation solutions or achieve preexisting redevelopment goals. As climate hazards intensify, policy makers should provide funding for affordable housing stakeholders to make, and subsequently implement, the difficult choice between fortifying existing developments and relocating residents to safer locations.","abstract_html":"This dissertation investigates whether residents of U.S. rent-subsidized housing are exposed to natural hazards, including flooding and sinkholes, and how they can be protected. Using a multilevel model, the first study finds that census tracts with higher concentrations of subsidized housing have greater exposure to flooding, particularly in inland regions and especially in inland Alaska. The second and third studies each use a combination of qualitative methods, including elite interviews, document analysis, observation, and archival research, to examine two local housing authorities undertaking mitigation efforts for aging properties at imminent risk. In Spencer, West Virginia, due to the scarcity of developable land, public housing was built at the confluence of two creeks. After two major floods that forced tenant evacuation, flood insurance rate hikes prompted the housing authority to pursue floodproofing solutions. In Frederick, Maryland, public housing sited on low-lying, sinkhole-prone land through urban renewal and racial segregation pressures is being torn down and rebuilt with deep foundations using Low Income Housing Tax Credits, which requires private investment interests in the neighborhood. These cases reveal how historical siting decisions formed environmental inequality in public housing and how decision-making around mitigation is a complex process. Disasters can act as focusing events, generating the political will to implement known mitigation solutions or achieve preexisting redevelopment goals. As climate hazards intensify, policy makers should provide funding for affordable housing stakeholders to make, and subsequently implement, the difficult choice between fortifying existing developments and relocating residents to safer locations.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Li, Janet"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Planning, Governance, and Globalization","degree_department":"Public Administration/Public Affairs","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Zhang, Yang"],"committee_members":["Shroder, Mark","Roberts, Patrick S.","Ritchie, Liesel Ashley","Wernstedt, Kris Frederick","Cahen, Claire"],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-08-25","date_published":"2025-08-25","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:15Z","subjects":["public housing","affordable housing","housing authority","disaster","risk","natural hazards","mitigation","flood","floodproofing","sinkhole","demolition","redevelopment","case study","environmental justice","multiple streams framework","managed retreat"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International"],"rights_urls":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:44539"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:44539","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/137566","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Zhang, Yang"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Shroder, Mark","Roberts, Patrick S.","Ritchie, Liesel Ashley","Wernstedt, Kris Frederick","Cahen, Claire"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Public Administration/Public Affairs"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Li, Janet"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-08-26T08:00:45Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-08-26T08:00:45Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-08-25"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Planning, Governance, and Globalization"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["public housing","affordable housing","housing authority","disaster","risk","natural hazards","mitigation","flood","floodproofing","sinkhole","demolition","redevelopment","case study","environmental justice","multiple streams framework","managed retreat"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:44539"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/137566"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation investigates whether residents of U.S. rent-subsidized housing are exposed to natural hazards, including flooding and sinkholes, and how they can be protected. Using a multilevel model, the first study finds that census tracts with higher concentrations of subsidized housing have greater exposure to flooding, particularly in inland regions and especially in inland Alaska. The second and third studies each use a combination of qualitative methods, including elite interviews, document analysis, observation, and archival research, to examine two local housing authorities undertaking mitigation efforts for aging properties at imminent risk. In Spencer, West Virginia, due to the scarcity of developable land, public housing was built at the confluence of two creeks. After two major floods that forced tenant evacuation, flood insurance rate hikes prompted the housing authority to pursue floodproofing solutions. In Frederick, Maryland, public housing sited on low-lying, sinkhole-prone land through urban renewal and racial segregation pressures is being torn down and rebuilt with deep foundations using Low Income Housing Tax Credits, which requires private investment interests in the neighborhood. These cases reveal how historical siting decisions formed environmental inequality in public housing and how decision-making around mitigation is a complex process. Disasters can act as focusing events, generating the political will to implement known mitigation solutions or achieve preexisting redevelopment goals. As climate hazards intensify, policy makers should provide funding for affordable housing stakeholders to make, and subsequently implement, the difficult choice between fortifying existing developments and relocating residents to safer locations."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["This dissertation investigates whether people living in public housing are safe from disasters and how they can be protected. The first study finds that neighborhoods with higher concentrations of subsidized housing are more likely to flood. This is true mostly outside of the coast, particularly in inland Alaska. The second and third studies, based on interviews, document analysis, observation, and archival research, are deep dives of public housing facing serious hazards. In Spencer, West Virginia, public housing was built by two creeks due to limited available developable land. After two major floods, flood insurance rate hikes prompted local stakeholders to look into floodproofing solutions. In Frederick, Maryland, public housing was sited on soft, floodprone land with sinkholes to revitalize an underused neighborhood. It is being redeveloped in a safe manner by private investors through Low Income Housing Tax Credits. These cases show that decisions around where to build public housing in the past continue to shape residents' safety today, and that fortifying public housing is a complicated process. Disasters can spark action to pursue ready-to-go engineering solutions and redevelop aging public housing. As climate change makes disasters more common and severe, policy makers must fund the needs of affordable housing communities in hazardous places to either stay and strengthen their properties or move to safer ground."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Public Housing on Risky Ground: A National Study of Flood Risk and Two Case Studies Investigating the Legacy of Environmental Inequality"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Zhang, Yang"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Shroder, Mark","Roberts, Patrick S.","Ritchie, Liesel Ashley","Wernstedt, Kris Frederick","Cahen, Claire"],"dc:contributor.department":["Public Administration/Public Affairs"],"dc:creator":["Li, Janet"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-08-26T08:00:45Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-08-26T08:00:45Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-08-25"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation investigates whether residents of U.S. rent-subsidized housing are exposed to natural hazards, including flooding and sinkholes, and how they can be protected. Using a multilevel model, the first study finds that census tracts with higher concentrations of subsidized housing have greater exposure to flooding, particularly in inland regions and especially in inland Alaska. The second and third studies each use a combination of qualitative methods, including elite interviews, document analysis, observation, and archival research, to examine two local housing authorities undertaking mitigation efforts for aging properties at imminent risk. In Spencer, West Virginia, due to the scarcity of developable land, public housing was built at the confluence of two creeks. After two major floods that forced tenant evacuation, flood insurance rate hikes prompted the housing authority to pursue floodproofing solutions. In Frederick, Maryland, public housing sited on low-lying, sinkhole-prone land through urban renewal and racial segregation pressures is being torn down and rebuilt with deep foundations using Low Income Housing Tax Credits, which requires private investment interests in the neighborhood. These cases reveal how historical siting decisions formed environmental inequality in public housing and how decision-making around mitigation is a complex process. Disasters can act as focusing events, generating the political will to implement known mitigation solutions or achieve preexisting redevelopment goals. As climate hazards intensify, policy makers should provide funding for affordable housing stakeholders to make, and subsequently implement, the difficult choice between fortifying existing developments and relocating residents to safer locations."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["This dissertation investigates whether people living in public housing are safe from disasters and how they can be protected. The first study finds that neighborhoods with higher concentrations of subsidized housing are more likely to flood. This is true mostly outside of the coast, particularly in inland Alaska. The second and third studies, based on interviews, document analysis, observation, and archival research, are deep dives of public housing facing serious hazards. In Spencer, West Virginia, public housing was built by two creeks due to limited available developable land. After two major floods, flood insurance rate hikes prompted local stakeholders to look into floodproofing solutions. In Frederick, Maryland, public housing was sited on soft, floodprone land with sinkholes to revitalize an underused neighborhood. It is being redeveloped in a safe manner by private investors through Low Income Housing Tax Credits. These cases show that decisions around where to build public housing in the past continue to shape residents' safety today, and that fortifying public housing is a complicated process. Disasters can spark action to pursue ready-to-go engineering solutions and redevelop aging public housing. As climate change makes disasters more common and severe, policy makers must fund the needs of affordable housing communities in hazardous places to either stay and strengthen their properties or move to safer ground."],"dc:description.degree":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:44539"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/137566"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"],"dc:subject":["public housing","affordable housing","housing authority","disaster","risk","natural hazards","mitigation","flood","floodproofing","sinkhole","demolition","redevelopment","case study","environmental justice","multiple streams framework","managed retreat"],"dc:title":["Public Housing on Risky Ground: A National Study of Flood Risk and Two Case Studies Investigating the Legacy of Environmental Inequality"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Planning, Governance, and Globalization"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:15Z"}