Strengthening Transit Through Community Partnerships
In the Chicago area, flooding has often disproportionately hit the south suburbs, particularly low-income communities. And it’s going to get worse with climate change.
In Chicago, 87 percent of flood damage insurance claims were paid between 2007 and 2016 in minority communities, according to an analysis by the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology.
It’s also in towns such as Ford Heights, where nearly half the households fall below the federal poverty line and more than 90 percent of residents are black.
“With all the other needs these communities are grappling with, if you’re already struggling to make ends meet and dealing with flooding, too, it can really compound problems for low-income and people of color,” says Kate Evasic, a senior planner at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.