Plimpton Associate Professor of Planning and Urban Economics Rachel Meltzer‘s (Graduate School of Design and HDSI Faculty Affiliate) project investigates the economic effects of wildfires on commercial property valuation in California, a relatively unexplored area compared to the impact of other disasters like floods and hurricanes on residential markets. By integrating spatial data on wildfire incidents with tabular data on commercial real estate, employment, demographics, and consumer behavior from 2018 onwards, the study aims to understand how increased wildfire risk influences investment and usage decisions in commercial infrastructure.
This funding was made possible by the HDSI’s Faculty Special Projects Fund