2025-05-20-未来能源研究所-塑造荒地-城市界面的土地利用模式_州和地方政府在减少野火风险中的作用（英）_34页_1mb

Shaping Land Use Patterns in the Wildland-Urban Interface: The Role of State and Local Governments in Reducing Exposure to Wildfire Risks

Problem and Context

• Wildfire risks are escalating due to climate change, population growth, and increased development in wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas.
• Exposure to wildfires has grown significantly (e.g., WUI population doubled 1990-2010), leading to higher property losses, health impacts, and external costs like firefighting expenses and cross-subsidized insurance.
• Local governments heavily influence land use through planning and zoning, but face challenges like revenue dependencies, legal constraints, and housing affordability pressures.

Current Policies and Practices

• Local Planning and Zoning: Comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances shape development patterns. Tools include hazard overlays (e.g., Norfolk’s resilience overlay) and TDR programs, but many communities inadequately address exposure risks in planning documents like Hazard Mitigation Plans (HMPs).
• State-Level Policies: States regulate through hazard mapping, insurance requirements, infrastructure spending, and bridging federal-local governance. Insurance market reforms and building codes can indirectly influence development, but gaps exist in risk disclosure and funding alignment.
• Governance: States often act as intermediaries in federal programs, but effectiveness varies, with barriers to local policy changes.

Proposed Policy Directions

• Local Levers: Revise zoning codes to include wildfire resilience overlays and TDR programs to shift development away from high-risk areas, incentivizing growth in safer zones.
• State Role: Develop model codes, offer grants for TDR pilots, integrate wildfire risk into housing affordability laws, and enforce land-use consistency in planning.
• Federal Engagement: Amend funding programs to prioritize exposure reduction in local plans, providing financial rewards and support for innovative policies.
• Knowledge Gaps: Further research on actuarial insurance pricing, infrastructure impacts, and cross-jurisdictional equity is needed.

Conclusion

• Reducing exposure to wildfire risks through strategic land use policies is critical for mitigating costs and enhancing resilience. Key actions include incentivizing low-risk development, improving state and federal coordination, and addressing externalities to achieve equitable and effective solutions.