AFVN University of Miami Environmental Equity Coordinator

Environmental sustainability and housing affordability are two of South Florida¿s most pressing challenges and are particularly acute in lower income communities of color. Addressing these issues jointly is key to developing urban resilience strategies and programs that can impact historically marginalized communities and improve livability throughout the region. According to Harvard¿s Joint Center for Housing Studies, the Miami metro area is home to the highest percentage of renters spending more than half of their incomes on housing costs in the country. A recent report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition revealed that South Florida has only 22 homes available for every 100 extremely low-income households. As a compounding factor, Climate Central projects that 25% of affordable housing will be impacted by sea level rise impacts by 2050. The VISTA Environmental Equity Coordinator will build upon the strengths of UM CCE's Climate and Equity Mapping Platform (CAMP) project to link housing and climate in equitable development policy and practices. The Environmental Equity Coordinator would serve a key role in our office¿s participation in conversations related to climate resilience and affordable housing. This project will be focused on protecting historically marginalized communities of color from environmental and economic vulnerabilities. Assisted and public housing developments have specified income targeting requirements that range from extremely low-income to moderate-income households.