Susan Crawford

Washington, D.C., United States

Author, Senior Fellow at Carnegie DC. Writing about climate adaptation intersections with finance. On Substack: 'Moving Day,' https://t.co/hoxBK4as2A

Articles

Crawford Campaign Announces Raising Historic $7.3 Million Total; $4.4 Million In Recent Reporting Period

Feb 7, 2025 | urbanmilwaukee.com | Susan Crawford |Urban Milwaukee

MADISON, Wis. – Today, with exactly 50 days left until Election Day, Judge Susan Crawford’s campaign for the Wisconsin Supreme Court announced raising more than $7.3 million total since entering the race in June 2024, and more than $4.4 million in the recent reporting period spanning January 1 thru February 3, 2025.
It's called the Waterfront Wonderland for a reason

Jun 26, 2024 | susanpcrawford.substack.com | Susan Crawford

This is a story about steadily shifting risk into places that may not ultimately be able to bear it, both at the state and federal level. Would-be homeowners keep moving to Florida. Cape Coral, FL is the fourth most popular destination for people moving within the US, according to recent Redfin data (behind Sacramento, Phoenix, and Sarasota), and Florida is the most popular state. I'm focusing on Cape Coral, because it was dug out of a swamp in the 1950s and created by developers.
Making toxic pockets of residential real estate more visible

Jun 19, 2024 | susanpcrawford.substack.com | Susan Crawford |Ben Keys

Yesterday, someone called me up to talk about the profound water-related risks to Charleston, SC, where it flooded 75 times last year compared to 5 or 8 times in 1989-1990. People in Charleston understand that sea level rise is real and accelerating, because they see the effects downtown so frequently. Even as much of the nation broils this week, though, there's still a good deal of looking away from the physical risks coming toward us.
Alarm bells ringing for Fannie and Freddie

May 31, 2024 | susanpcrawford.substack.com | Susan Crawford

On the next day, a Monday, the stock market crashed. I knew, because I heard it over the radio in a cab, taking the long way from the top of the park. By now, I'd met many people who made their money in the wide field called "finance": bankers, traders, buyers-out, buyers-in, surfers of swelling numbers I couldn't begin to comprehend. Once or twice, Beverly or Ernest had tried to explain to me the particulars of their businesses. My head cottoned up instantly and turned to static.
Careening, cascading risks of abrupt climate change

May 15, 2024 | susanpcrawford.substack.com | Susan Crawford

Ice core storageGlaciologists know that the earth's climate has shifted abruptly in the past. Ice cores drawn from thousands of feet down show very substantial increases in temperature—18ºF or more—over the course of a. The scientists keep explaining to the rest of us that initial perturbations, spurred on by positive feedback loops that amplify and accelerate climate conditions, can push climate systems past tipping points and into nonlinear rates of change.
Betting on the Big Easy

May 10, 2024 | susanpcrawford.substack.com | Susan Crawford

Hurricane Delta (2020) didn't make the top ten list. NOAA photo. The Big Easy online magazine may have overdone it in a piece last month titled "Why Now is the Right Time to Invest in Louisiana Real Estate: An In-Depth Look." The message of the piece is that (1) yes, prices are low in Louisiana right now, but (2) that's an opportunity for buyers, because (3) the high interest rates and skyrocketing insurance premiums that are squelching demand might go down later.
Las Vegas is heating up faster than almost every other American city

May 1, 2024 | susanpcrawford.substack.com | Susan Crawford

I'm going out to Las Vegas tomorrow for work. It's likely to be hot: Temperatures there have gone up by about 3ºF over the last 20 years, and the city is heating faster than almost any other city in the country. Here's a chart showing the average July in Las Vegas since 1949. The state as a whole has relatively high climate vulnerability: extreme heat, droughts, wildfires, water availability issues. Not a lot of billion-dollar disasters have hit Nevada.
"It's like two mortgages"

Apr 28, 2024 | susanpcrawford.substack.com | Susan Crawford

At the heart of the Great Financial Crisis in the fall of 2008 was the collapse of a housing bubble that was driven by toxic mortgages. Lenders like Countrywide and Indymac made loans with exotic terms to people who didn't understand what they were getting into. No downpayment! Pay when you can! The banks didn't care because they immediately packaged up the loans into securities and sold them to Wall Street.
Two federal/state deals that aren't working well

Apr 19, 2024 | susanpcrawford.substack.com | Susan Crawford

Two recent developments involving state/federal deals show that a great deal of physical climate risk is being shifted to the federal government—which means everyone is on the hook. Lee County, Florida. Jake Bittle (author of a terrific book, The Great Displacement) and Tom Frank (of E&E News) reported earlier this month that Lee County officials are blasting a FEMA attempt to increase the amount homeowners pay for federal flood insurance there.
The fragility of Florida

Apr 6, 2024 | susanpcrawford.substack.com | Susan Crawford

Insurance makes the mortgage market work. You can't get a mortgage from a bank (these days, likely a nonbank) without insurance, because the lender needs some kind of guarantee that you'll pay them back. Your pledge to the bank that it can have your house if you don't repay the loan has to be accompanied by property insurance that will preserve the collateral value of the property that secures the mortgage. But what if the insurer is unreliable and isn't able to pay claims following a major storm?

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Susan Crawford @scrawford

18 Jun 25

As FEMA prepares to withdraw, states will have to fully fund climate adaptation. Can state bond banks step up? Today's piece looks at barriers and opportunities, focusing on VT. It won't be easy. https://t.co/qui7AsAlpR https://t.co/9Univ4b5et

Susan Crawford @scrawford

16 Jun 25

RT @janevandis: The risky debt Floridians are taking on, the risky housing market, the increasing physical risks... and the challenges any…

Susan Crawford @scrawford

11 Jun 25

RT @climateconomics: "In pockets of climate-risky real estate all over the country, the risk of foreclosures is likely being greatly amplif…

Susan Crawford

Articles

Crawford Campaign Announces Raising Historic $7.3 Million Total; $4.4 Million In Recent Reporting Period

It's called the Waterfront Wonderland for a reason

Making toxic pockets of residential real estate more visible

Alarm bells ringing for Fannie and Freddie

Careening, cascading risks of abrupt climate change

Betting on the Big Easy

Las Vegas is heating up faster than almost every other American city

"It's like two mortgages"

Two federal/state deals that aren't working well

The fragility of Florida

Contact details

Emails

Socials & Sites

X (formerly Twitter)