 |
|
|
|||||
Nearly two years after catastrophic wildfires destroyed more than 2,000 houses and apartment buildings in Lahaina, Hawaii, only 10 homes have been rebuilt. Hundreds of others are under construction, but the process of rebuilding is painfully slow. One temporary neighborhood is an exception: called Ka Lai Ola, its filled with modular, factory-built houses and is now home to more than 600 people. Hundreds of additional modular homes on the site will soon be ready for occupancy. And it might be a model for other communities that are trying to recover from disastersthough it also raises questions about the cost of building temporary housing. The timeline was unlike anything that weve ever experienced, says Kimo Carvalho, executive director of HomeAid Hawaii, the nonprofit leading the development of the project in partnership with the state of Hawaii. The team secured land in February 2024 and broke ground at the beginning of May. One hundred days later, the first families started moving in. Lahaina, August 10, 2023 [Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images] Vetting 130 modular housing companies Before the fires in Maui, the nonprofit was focused on building housing for the most vulnerable Hawaii residents. (HomeAid Hawaii is the local chapter of a national group created by the building industry to help tackle the affordable housing crisis.) In August 2023, after the wildfires, the nonprofit started working with the state on the disaster response. Immediately after the fires, the state was inundated with calls from modular housing companies; it realized that factory-built modular housing would likely be an important tool in the recovery. So while the nonprofit scoured the area for a place to build temporary housing, the group simultaneously started vetting more than 130 companies that make modular homes. Everyone said, I can absolutely get you 400 homes within three months, Carvalho says. And as a realist, I was able to break that down and ask about the specifics that got us to a true understanding of their timelines, production schedules, transportation, what the work would be looking like on site, and basically coming up with a real budget. They realized that a single company wouldnt be able to supply the 450 homes that they wanted for the project. So the team made a short list of finalists, visiting their factories in person to do due diligence, and ultimately choosing five providers. [Photo: HomeAid Hawaii] Finding a site to build At the same time, they were racing to find land. The 57-acre site they ultimately chose had challenges, including the fact that it was covered in volcanic rock. Preparing the land for construction meant an expensive process of using dynamite to blast through enough rock to install sewer, water, and electrical lines. The land sits on a slope, and engineering the right foundations for the locations was another challenge to solve. The site also has a complex history. The land originally belonged to Hawaiian royalty; it was ceded to the U.S. government when the monarchy was overthrown in 1893. When Hawaii became a state in 1959, the parcel was part of a larger collection of land that went to the state government, with the intent that it would be used to help native Hawaiians. Now, the state plans to use the site for emergency housing only for five years, as it makes plans to build permanent housing there for Hawaii residents. Its not yet clear what will happen to the modular homes when the five years are up. But the land was relatively close to some employment, a critical factor for fire survivors who were struggling with transportation. So the team moved forward. While the lease for the land was being finalized, the modular providers were getting ready to begin shipping units as soon as possible. [Photo: HomeAid Hawaii] An accelerated timeline Permitting happened quickly, as the government used its emergency declaration to speed up the process. We brought the stakeholders together in one room, so it wasnt five different agencies looking at a permit set that would otherwise take eight months, says Carvalho. We got our grading permit in two weeks. I think the project has demonstrated not only what modular manufacturing can do, but also what government can do to truly just get housing built. Construction also happened quickly. Most of the work on the modular homes happened in factories, with construction crews handling other steps like putting in foundations, steps, and decks. I dont think we would have been able to meet our timeline had modular not been an option, he says. The first families moved into the homes in August 2024, a year after the fire. The homes, which range in size from studios to small three-bedroom houses, are limited to survivors who werent eligible for help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has also built some modular housing in Lahaina. The majority of residents are renters. Others are homeowners with specific challenges. For example, one couple didnt qualify for FEMA aid because they had insurance cverage, but their insurance settlement doesnt actually cover the cost of rebuilding their home. Rent at Ka Lai Ola is free until August, and then theyll pay below market rate, helping them save up to cover the cost of rebuilding. [Photo: HomeAid Hawaii] A lifelife for residents For the residents whove been able to move in, the site has been a lifeline. You see a sigh of relief when they receive keys, and know that they dont have to jump around from hotel to hotel for the next four years, says Cesar Martinez, the director at Ka Lai Ola. Martinez and his family also lost their own rental home in the fire. Like others, they didnt get any official warning the day of the catastrophe. Gale-force winds had taken out power and cell service. Martinez and his girlfriend and children fled when smoke filled the air and they started hearing explosions in the neighborhood. Cesar Martinez and Patricia Nebrida [Photo: HomeAid Hawaii] They were able to safely escape by driving up a dirt road into the hills and spending the night at a hotel where Martinez and his girlfriend had worked in the past. But when they returned a couple of days later, everything was gone. We drove to the property where we lived and confirmed with our own eyes that nothing was there, he says. The house theyd rented had burned down. The place where Martinez worked was gone. His childrens school, which had been scheduled to start a new school year the day after the fire happened, was also gone. Like thousands of other Lahaina residents, they stayed temporarily in hotels. But the shortage of housing, and the extreme cost of the little housing that was left, meant that they considered leaving Hawaii. When they were able to move to Ka Lai Ola, they knew that they would have a place to live until 2029, and that was incredibly important for their mental health. Theres a lot of uncertainty, he says. A lot of people who didnt have much, now have even less.” Meeting their new neighbors also helped. The modular homes are arranged in pods of 14 or 16 units. “We placed units strategically in ways where there would be intentional community connections,” says Carvalho. The community also has access to financial literacy classes, mental health counseling, a mobile food bank, and a mobile vet clinic that offers free care for pets. The site itself, with a view of the ocean, is peaceful. The name means “The Place of Peaceful Recovery” in Hawaiian. A steep cost It’s undeniable that the development happened quicklyand for that reason, aspects of the approach could be useful for other areas. Changing permitting rules was key, and so was the use of modular homes. Carvalho has been meeting with groups from California that are currently working on plans to rebuild areas that burned in January around Los Angeles. He has offered, he says, to share HomeAid’s analysis of all of the modular housing companies. But the homes come at a steep cost: The project costs $185 million, or more than $400,000 per home. (The nonprofit says that’s still $52 million less than the state would have spent with typical construction; the project saved $14 million because of donated materials and labor. The Hawaii Community Foundation also contributed $40 million from funds collected from global donors.) Most of the cost went to building underlying infrastructure, from sewer and water connections to grading the land, since it was an undeveloped area; the base cost of each home was only around $122,000. The same infrastructure can later be used to support permanent housing for Hawaii residents, and the modular housing itself can likely be used much longer than the current five-year plan. Still, critics argue that costs were higher than necessary because the developer didn’t get bids from multiple contractors in order to speed up construction. Critics are also concerned that HomeAid hasn’t been transparent about specific costs; the nonprofit acknowledges that it’s behind in providing receipts. And while the project has undeniably helped its residents, 12,000 people were displaced by the fires; one development can’t help everyone. The cost is also a reminder that as climate change makes disasters more common, communities also need to invest more in preventionrepeatedly rebuilding is financially unsustainable. In L.A., for example, the fires this year were 35% more likely because of climate change. The same extreme conditions will happen again, and neighborhoods need to be better designed with that in mind. At a national level, the Trump administration recently shut down a program that helped communities become more resilient in order to limit damage in disasters. But some cities are still trying to do more. In Berkeley, California, for example, homeowners in neighborhoods that are at the highest risk from fire will now be required to clear “defensible space” around their homes so fires can’t spread as easily.
Category:
E-Commerce
In this episode of FC Explains, hosted by Josh Christensen, we break down why the 2024 WNBA Draft is being hailed as the moment that changed everything for women’s sports. From record-breaking viewership and unprecedented media attention to historic endorsement deals and social media buzz, this draft marked a new era for female athletes and the business of sports.
Category:
E-Commerce
Soccer, football, futebol, voetbal. Whichever moniker the worlds favorite games 3.5 billion fans use to describe this mega sport, this beautiful game is going through a cultural evolution creating more impact beyond the game than ever before. When I joined Manchester City FC in 2009, soccer clubs and the broader sport were just starting to open their eyes beyond the traditional rules of category marketing for the game and its impact was felt in soccer only. At Manchester City FC, we saw an opportunity to do something different. Very quickly we went on a journey from being a soccer club that sold entertainment to strategically pivoting to be an entertainment brand that sold soccer, winning the Premiership, becoming a global football brand, and kick-starting a journey for all clubs to evolve beyond the game. Looking back now, this sounds like an obvious nuance. But the unlock reframed everything we did through this entertainment lens. From the match day experience to community involvement to purpose-led endeavors to new market expansionthinking of ourselves as an entertainment property with a soccer capability created a new way to connect to fans, creating meaningful impact on and beyond the field of play. More than a game Cut to today. This thinking is now deep within the game at every level, and with the record breaking three consecutive promotions by Ryan Reynolds, Wrexham FCthe Hollywood epitome of an entertainment story that sells soccerwe see a trend of clubs, players, and brands gaining as much money and influence from their off-field controllable entertainment revenue as from traditional on-field football activities. As we near the one year mark until the World Cup lands in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico (June 2026), it feels like soccer is entering its next stage of evolution in how it resonates and creates impact globally. We are seeing that soccer is much more than the game that it represents on the field. The game, its players, and its global influence are transcending into culture and creating a deeper societal impact than ever before. From driving their local and global economies, to leading the fashion and music industry, to creating new rules for the celebrity economy, to partnering with brands to create real consumer connections, and even to shaping politics and broader society, we are on a journey to a World Cup where soccer will be more than just a game. The best example of the games growing large-scale economic impact is with the Messi effect raising the value of Inter Miami to over $1.2 billion and helping the club become the most followed U.S. sports team, while bringing economic prosperity and sky-rocketing real estate to the area. We also see this economic impact spreading around the world with the rise of destination football. The purchase of and growing relevance of football clubs in tourism geographies impact and make revenue from their destinations like Como 1907 and Venezia FC. Football and impact Venezia FC is a helpful segway into understanding how football is leading fashion and music as it counts the musician Drake as an investor and it was recently crowned the coolest brand in football. We also see more players stepping off the field into the recording studio creating music, led by Alex Iwobi, or players stepping out of the changing room onto the catwalk, leading fashion with the deep cultural influence of the footballer fit. The front row of most fashion weeks looks like a players bench at a top tier game, culminating in brand Labrum London debuting its collecting at the Arsenal FC stadium. This fashion and music resonance is creating a new mindset for Gen Z fandom to express themselves in new ways, paving a way for a new generation shaping a fresh version of soccer as channeled by the likes of Adama and Awa in partnership with Nike and soccer culture platform Versus. The games power stretches beyond the players to the brands, creating meaningful impact in the purposes they challenge together and creating real resonance for consumers with brands via the game. UK telco brand EE created an amazing example of this at the last Womens Euro, challenging the UK Parliament and bringing fans and players together to change a safety bill against online hate. So did cosmetic brand e.l.f. with its recent U.S. National Womens Soccer League partnership to empower more women in sport helping raise a new generation of future industry leaders. We also see the cultural impact and power of the game with the immense value of the player celebrity platform wielding more power and influence than the traditional sporting brands they used to rely on for a broadcast voice. The most startling example is comparing player and sporting brands social reach. Nike-sponsored Ronaldo has 652 million Instagram followers, double sponsor Nikes 301 million. And the most followed female footballer, Alisha Lehman, playing for Italian team Juventus, has 17 million Instagram followers, 17 times more than traditional soccer brand Umbro. This is leading clubs and brands to rethink how they partner with playersand beyond to fansto create content. A great example is Juventus FCs creator lab, capitalizing on this impact. Football shapes culture and society We also see the rising power of the game as it truly stretches into shaping culture and society as these platforms and influence are used way beyond the beautiful game itself. Football can shape the political spectrum, judging from Marcus Rashfords social activism that during COVID-19, extended free school meals for vulnerable children in the UK. His actions forced the government to reverse its decision, impacting millions of lives. His efforts earned him an Order of the British Empire MB award. It extends to a greater impact on politics, with a move from former football players becoming politicians, ranging from George Weah moving from World Player of the Year to Liberian president, to the more recent Georgian ex-Manchester City player Mikheil Kavelashvili becoming a prominent political leader in his home country. Its this power of the fandom, the players, the clubs, the brands, and the category itself coming together to harness an evolving and growing cultural impact that makes this coming World Cup a moment where the game and its impact will extend beyond the game itself. Maybe it will even breathe new life into the famous Liverpool manager quote from Bill Shankly, who said that Some people think football is a matter of life of death. I can assure them its much more serious than that. Chris Kay is the international president of 72andSunny.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||