Center of Excellence in Capacity-building for REsilient Housing
A collaborative study examining construction quality, homeowner experience, inspection and oversight practices, and accountability in federally funded Hurricane Harvey recovery housing.
For households returning after Hurricane Harvey, construction quality, clear inspection processes, access to records, and reliable pathways for resolving problems are essential parts of a durable and equitable recovery.
This study centers the experiences of homeowners while examining how recovery-program oversight is documented and experienced. The goal is to strengthen transparency, accountability, and resilient construction practice.
The project uses a community-based participatory and mixed-methods approach, with Harvey survivors contributing to research design, data collection, interpretation, and dissemination.
Structured surveys and interviews document program participation, construction concerns, inspection experiences, reporting barriers, and satisfaction.
Training and user-friendly checklists help homeowners document observable conditions and better understand construction standards.
Program records, inspection documentation, and recovery-program materials are reviewed to understand formal oversight mechanisms.
The team is examining where homeowner-reported experiences and available government documentation align, differ, or leave unanswered questions.
Each organization contributes a distinct role, from community recruitment and co-research to policy analysis, research design, and technical interpretation.
Project coordination, public-information requests, policy analysis, and advocacy grounded in disaster-recovery accountability.
Participant engagement, homeowner interviews, research-tool development, and interpretation informed by lived experience.
Homeowner engagement, inspection and documentation training, and disaster-recovery accountability expertise.
Community-based research methods, academic oversight, data management, analysis, and interpretation.
Building standards, resilient construction practices, inspection protocols, and technical interpretation of construction-quality evidence.
Supporting collaborative, community-centered research that can inform disaster-housing policy, practice, and future work.
CECREH supports the study through resilient-housing research, technical interpretation, research coordination, and connections across policy and practice.
The project pairs formal research products with accessible tools for homeowners, community organizations, practitioners, and policymakers.
A comprehensive report, policy brief, construction-quality database, and synthesis of relevant government documents.
Plain-language program guides, an inspection checklist, survey tools, and know-your-rights materials.
Conference presentations, webinars, podcast discussions, and academic publications extending lessons beyond the study communities.
See how CECREH works with communities, laboratories, and research partners to strengthen resilient housing.
Center of Excellence in Capacity-building for REsilient Housing
