“Density = Danger”: Mobilizing Climate Risk to Block Housing Density

• In Event: Governing Space

Abstract

This paper examines a surprising new political tool that affluent communities deploy to block the development of denser housing in their neighborhoods: their designation as areas of high climate risk. Taking the case of the Pacific Palisades—a wealthy Los Angeles suburb that was devastated by the January 2025 Palisades Fire and subsequently labeled a high-fire-risk area—I show how residents repurposed this high-risk status as a tool to resist state housing legislation that promoted denser development. Contrary to the assumption that high-climate-risk designations are stigmatizing labels that diminish property values, my ethnographic, interview, and textual data demonstrate how Palisadians instead used this designation to protect the exclusivity of their community. I show how they drew on their traumatic experience with the Palisades Fire, framing their opposition to housing density as a concern for safety in a high-fire-risk zone. By doing so, they won provisions exempting the Palisades from statewide upzoning legislation. This narrative has since spread beyond the Palisades, with other wealthy communities citing their high-fire-risk designations as grounds for opposing higher density as well. Thus, this paper shows the emergence of a potent new narrative by which powerful, affluent communities can resist higher density housing, exclude outsiders, and preserve their privilege—showcasing the deep entanglement of the housing and climate crises.

Author

• Joyce Ho, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor