An opinion piece, titled “Losing Your Neighborhood to Climate Change is Sometimes Necessary” was published in “The New York Times” by Assistant Professor Max Besbris with Anna Rhodes, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Rice University. They are authors of the book “Soaking the Middle Class: Suburban Inequality and Recovery From Disaster” which contains interviews of residents of a middle-class Houston suburb immediately after Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017 and followed them for the next two years. In their essay, Besbris and Rhodes discuss the emotional turmoil of residents, attachment of residents to their community even despite the severe damage of the storm and prediction of future floods, the economic impact of of the storm on home values, and recommendations for resources to support managed retreat, a strategy in which communities get government aid to move away from areas that are vulnerable to extreme weather.
Besbris was also recently interviewed about the book on CNN.