Scaling Post-Disaster Housing Capacity Round Table: A Collaborative Approach to Enhancing Recovery Efforts

In January 2024, the Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) hosted a roundtable focused on scaling construction capacity after disasters. This event brought together a diverse group of participants from academia, non-profit organizations and the public and private sectors, each offering unique perspectives on the challenges of post-disaster housing. The discussion covered key issues such as supply chain management, policy frameworks at various governmental levels, building codes and the complexities of private-sector construction.

Notable attendees included the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), local government officials, emergency managers, the International Code Council, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), modular homebuilders, the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) and the Modular Building Institute (MBI). Their participation underscored a growing consensus on the value of off-site construction as a solution for disaster housing and recovery.

The report from the roundtable captures the essence of these discussions and provides detailed actions and practical recommendations for each stakeholder group, aiming to improve the effectiveness of post-disaster housing solutions.

Understanding the Scaling Post-Disaster Housing Capacity Report

The roundtable’s discussions were framed around two primary goals:  

1. To find effective ways to quickly increase the ability to provide housing after disasters 
2. To identify the policy and operational barriers that often prevent these urgently needed solutions from being put into action 

The International Code Council’s active participation underscored the critical role of building codes and standards in ensuring effective disaster recovery.  

A significant part of the Scaling Post-Disaster Housing Capacity report stresses the importance of universally adopting ICC/MBI Standards 1200 and 1205 for off-site construction. These standards are designed to cover every aspect of the off-site construction process, helping modular builders and manufacturers deliver housing more efficiently during disaster recovery efforts. One of the main policy recommendations in the report is for all states to consistently adopt these standards. This would allow builders to construct off-site housing more effectively across different regions, solving a major challenge in the current disaster recovery process. 

This recommendation also extends to the federal government, advocating for the adoption of ICC/MBI Standards 1200 and 1205 as a condition for federal disaster housing funding for off-site constructed homes. This approach is similar to how the HUD Code is used for manufactured homes, and it offers a way to improve the resilience and efficiency of housing solutions after disasters.

Additionally, the report highlights the critical need for adopting hazard-resistant code requirements in vulnerable communities, a measure that could significantly mitigate the impact of future natural hazard events.  

In previous studies, NIBS conducted a report, Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves, that studied the benefit-cost analysis of natural hazard mitigation. Their report found that up-to-date building codes can save up to $11 for every $1 invested. Equivalently, the  FEMA further validates that building codes are the best way to mitigate damage from all hazards. 

FEMA’s studies have found that if all future construction were built to the latest edition of the International Code Council’s International Codes® (I-Codes), communities could avoid more than $600 billion in cumulative losses from disasters by 2060. 

By adopting these measures, communities can significantly improve the speed and efficiency of rebuilding efforts, ultimately safeguarding communities and reducing the long-term impacts of future natural hazard events. 

 To access more resources on off-site construction, click here.