New and updated HUD resources advance Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative and strengthen efforts to mitigate impacts of extreme weather events
WASHINGTON – Across the country, tens of millions of Americans are experiencing the effects of extreme weather events. As the impacts of extreme weather events intensify, President Biden and Vice President Harris is delivering on the most ambitious climate agenda in American history and strengthening efforts for communities to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced key actions to protect more households from the damaging impacts of extreme heat and ensure all communities are protected from environmental and health hazards that may have long-term health implications. HUD today released its Extreme Heat “Playbook” to support communities by providing best practices for building community resilience, mitigating the impacts of extreme heat, and lowering cooling costs for public housing residents. HUD also launched an updated Environmental Justice site that connects communities to HUD initiatives on climate resilient housing, community planning and development, lead and other harmful contaminants, and essential HUD programs that promote fair housing.
“Far too many Americans are being impacted by the harmful effects of extreme heat,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “The best practices we are sharing today, advances the Biden- Harris Administration’s national heat strategy and will move us closer towards safer housing, particularly for seniors.”
The Extreme Heat “Playbook” is an actionable guide for planning and implementing measures, emphasizing evaluating existing community strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities; updating policies and protocols to address current and future conditions; lowering cooling costs; and highlighting the critical importance of resilience amid climate change, given the increase of severe extreme heat events. The guide includes 16 specific strategies, along with examples, to address soaring temperatures while also identifying HUD and Federal agency funding sources and guiding grantees to plan for and address extreme heat events.
The “Playbook” aligns with the National Heat Strategy introduced by the Biden-Harris Administration to coordinate a “whole-of-government” approach to extreme heat from 2024 through 2030, as well as the newly-launched Extreme Heat Call to Action and the White House Climate Resilience Framework. It builds on the foundation of HUD’s Extreme Heat Quick Guide released last April and equips communities with tools and strategies to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat, and ensure safety, health, and resilience – particularly for vulnerable residents.
HUD also launched its updated Environmental Justice webpage equip with information on what the Department is doing under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice 40 Initiative, information on HUD’s program partnerships, and other useful resources and tools related to environmental justice. The newly updated webpage also highlights examples of the impactful work HUD is doing to expand environmental justice across HUD programs.
HUD is committed to making valuable resources available that support community involvement in environmental and health hazard safety and address the risks of extreme heat impacts.