Resiliency and Affordability—Can We Have Both? – GreenBuildingAdvisor

By Randy Williams | July 30, 2025

In a time of billion-dollar storms and community-destroying wildfires, the construction industry finds itself contemplating two urgent priorities: resiliency and affordability. Resiliency is the ability of a structure to absorb or avoid damage. A resilient building is one that provides protection and durability when unexpected events, either exterior or interior, occur. It has been designed and built to minimize threats and to be able to be repaired in a cost-effective and efficient manner whenever damage occurs.

Affordability has to do, of course, with the costs associated with constructing, renovating, or repairing a structure. Recent cost increases (caused by many factors) have been negatively affecting the industry. Historically, resiliency has been seen as a luxury-valuable, often out of reach for affordable housing projects.

The Case for Resiliency

As we are thinking about resiliency in how we build, there are several major contributors we must consider. Here are just a few examples.

The effects of changing weather patterns have been devastating communities. In September 2024, Hurricane Helene moved across the panhandle of Florida, into Georgia, and through Kentucky, the Carolinas, and Tennessee. The most destructive hurricane of 2024 took the lives of 250 people and caused damage estimated at more than $75 billion.

The major news story of January 2025 focused on the wildfires of Southern California.  These fires, which were intensified by the strong Santa Ana winds, burned more than 90 square miles in populated areas, destroying more than 18,000 structures. JPMorgan estimates the total economic loss from the fires at $50 billion.

Wildfires, hurricanes, tornados and strong straight-line winds, record-setting high temperatures, severe summer and winter storms—the list of weather-related and natural-disaster events is growing. No wonder the resiliency conversation is a big topic.

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