California faces complex recovery as wildfires draw attention to systemic vulnerabilities — yet hope remains
As Angelenos begin to return to homes devastated by wildfires, while others remain displaced and the threat of fires persists, the question of what recovery will look like looms large.
The converging challenges of a housing affordability crisis, escalating climate risks and pervasive systemic inequalities may have pushed California to a tipping point, prompting a critical re-evaluation of how wildfire-prone cities like Los Angeles approach urban planning, infrastructure development and social equity.
USC experts are available to discuss how rebuilding and recovery can address the underlying issues exposed by recent wildfires.
Contact: Leigh Hopper (hopper@usc.edu), Nina Raffio (raffio@usc.edu)
Angelenos find strength and agency amid tragedy
“Los Angeles is known for its sprawl — its tapestry of economically, culturally and geographically diverse neighborhoods that can seem like they share little aside from the congested freeways that connect them. But last week, as we all breathed bad air and watched ash sprinkle our streets, we were reminded of our connectivity — our shared identity as Angelenos,” said Emily Smith-Greenaway, an expert on demography, health, mortality bereavement, and inequality whose research examines how social conditions impact individuals and families.
“We all lost beloved institutions and landmarks as well as our sense of certainty and control. But from this collective tragedy has grown a collective mobilization — we’ve come together and organized at a speed and magnitude that has demonstrated our unity and resilience and has helped to empower us,” said Smith-Greenaway, a professor of sociology and spatial sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
“Though the loss and uncertainty remains, we’ve been reminded that we all have some control over how our city emerges from this tragedy.”
Contact: smithgre@usc.edu
A national housing crisis deepened by disasters
“A tightly constrained housing supply reduces resilience to absorb losses from unexpected disasters — fires, earthquakes, hurricanes and more. In Los Angeles, this lack of flexibility could rapidly intensify gentrification as relocations strain the existing housing stock,” said Dowell Myers, professor of policy, planning and demography at the USC Price School of Public Policy.
Myers’ recent research tracing the origins of America’s housing crisis revealed how a perfect storm of policy missteps, demographic shifts and economic forces that started in the early 2000s has severely constrained the housing supply, disproportionately affecting millennials and people of color.
Contact: dowell@usc.edu
Has climate change contributed to the L.A. fires?
“While most people think of climate change in terms of long-term manifestations, such as higher temperatures and sea-level rise, it also dramatically increases climate variability,” said Adam Rose, an expert on environmental policy and economics, in a recent Q&A for USC Price News.
“This means we have more periods of increased – and some unprecedented – rainfall, partly because warmer air carries more moisture. And that increases the amount of vegetation. Then we have periods of much lower – and some unprecedented – rainfall (droughts), which dries out the vegetation, making it a tinderbox.”
Rose is a research professor at USC Price, and director emeritus and senior research fellow of USC’s Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Threats and Emergencies (CREATE).
Contact: adam.rose@usc.edu
When seeking accountability, don’t overlook climate change
“Although we do not yet know the cause of the numerous fires in Los Angeles – some of them still burning – we do know that climate change is the backdrop behind which this catastrophe is occurring,” said Allison Agsten, director of USC Annenberg’s Center for Climate Journalism and Communication.
“L.A.’s unusually dry winter, which followed two particularly wet winters, set the scene for the explosive fires. It would be a mistake to report on this disaster without making the climate connection.”
Contact: agsten@usc.edu
Additional experts
Sarah Caliboso-Soto is a licensed clinical social worker and expert in mental health and culturally diverse urban populations with over 20 years of experience providing direct services to children, youth, and families in South Los Angeles.
Caliboso-Soto is an associate teaching professor in practicum education and assistant director of clinical programs at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.
Contact: scalibos@usc.edu
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Brett Feldman is the director and co-founder of USC Street Medicine and an associate professor of family medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. He is available to talk about the impacts of the fires and their aftermath on unsheltered people.
Contact: brettfel@usc.edu
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Marco Giacoletti is an expert on real estate finance, fixed income, asset pricing and household finance. Giacoletti is an assistant professor of finance and business economics at the USC Marshall School of Business.
Contact: mgiacole@marshall.usc.edu
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Richard K. Green is an expert on housing markets, housing policy, tax policy, transportation, mortgage finance and urban growth. Green is the director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate with joint appointments at USC Price and USC Marshall.
Contact: richarkg@usc.edu
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Steven Siegel is chief mental health and wellness officer for Keck Medicine of USC and professor of psychiatry and the behavioral sciences, population and public health sciences, neurological surgery and biomedical engineering at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. He is available to discuss managing stress amid evacuations and loss of homes.
Contact: siegels@usc.edu
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