Earlier this month, Congress passed, with bipartisan support, legislation that will empower communities at heightened risk of natural disasters. Its goal is to help those places implement preventative measures and curb the impacts of future events. The Community Disaster Resilience Zones (CDRZ) Act amends the 1988 Stafford Act with a requirement that FEMA regularly update datasets that define natural hazard risk factors across the U.S., from flooding and extended droughts to wildfires and extreme heat, which will be leveraged to designate communities that are most in need. Notably, once signed into law, it will authorize the President to provide critical funding for pre-disaster planning.
Exactly how key measures of the Act will be implemented, or if federal criteria for what defines a community itself will be amended, are yet to be seen. Even so, many architects are applauding the bill’s passage as a watershed moment.
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