Climate Change and California Housing: Land, Water, and Risk

California’s housing market is increasingly shaped by climate-driven constraints that influence where housing can be built and how communities plan for the future. From pending defensible space requirements under consideration by state regulators to growing water limitations and accelerating coastal vulnerabilities, climate change is becoming a defining factor in housing development decisions and long-term market stability across the state.

Join the Center for California Real Estate (CCRE) on Thursday, March 19, from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. for a virtual discussion exploring how climate-related pressures — including wildfire risk, water scarcity, and coastal erosion — are reshaping California’s housing landscape. This CCRE conversation will examine what housing professionals should understand as climate considerations become increasingly embedded in California’s housing framework.

Moderator

Liam Dillon

Reporter

POLITICO

Liam Dillon is a reporter for POLITICO covering housing in California. He focuses on rebuilding in Los Angeles after the devastating wildfires in January 2025 and writes about broader issues surrounding affordability and homelessness across the state. Liam has over 15 years of experience writing about politics and policy in California, with a specialty in housing reporting. He's covered dire living conditions in Los Angeles’ Skid Row, opulence in Silicon Valley enclaves and freeway displacement in Houston and Tampa. His work has won multiple awards and led to new laws and public policy changes. Liam frequently offers expert analysis on California housing issues on panels and in state and national media, and for five years co-hosted the Gimme Shelter California Housing Crisis podcast. Before joining POLITICO, Liam worked for nearly a decade at the Los Angeles Times. He's also reported on local government for news outlets in Southwest Florida and San Diego. Liam is a graduate of Georgetown University and grew up outside Philadelphia.

Panelists

Chris Field

Director

Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

Chris Field is the Perry L. McCarty Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford University. Prior to his 2016 appointment at the Stanford Woods Institute, Field was a staff member at the Carnegie Institution for Science (1984-2002) and founding director of the Carnegie’s Department of Global Ecology (2002-2016). Field's research focuses on climate change, especially solutions that improve lives now, decrease the amount of future warming, and support vibrant economies. Recent projects emphasize decreasing risks from coastal flooding and wildfires. He has been deeply involved with national and international efforts to advance understanding of global ecology and climate change. Field was co-chair of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2008-2015), where he led the effort on “Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation” (2012), and “Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability (2014). His widely cited work has earned many recognitions, including election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Max Planck Research Award, and the Roger Revelle Medal. Field is a member of the Board of Directors of World Wildlife Fund (U.S.) and the Board of Trustees of the California Academy of Sciences. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, and the Ecological Society of America. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Harvard College and a Ph.D. in biology from Stanford.

Kate Gordon

CEO

California Forward

Kate Gordon is the CEO of CA FWD, a statewide organization dedicated to a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive economy across every region of the state. Gordon has spent the past two decades working at the intersection of climate change, energy policy, and equitable economic development. Most recently, she served within the Biden-Harris administration as Senior Advisor to U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. During her time at the Department of Energy, Gordon led a variety of locally focused initiatives to help drive a more sustainable and resilient energy transition, including creating the Community Benefits Plan framework for DOE funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act; driving the agency’s efforts to site clean energy projects on DOE lands through the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative; and collaborating with the White House to lead the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities. Gordon served on the Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board (SEAB) through the end of the Biden-Harris administration. Prior to her time in the Biden-Harris administration, Gordon served for several years in California state government as the Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and Senior Climate Policy Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom. In this role, Gordon launched or led several initiatives to better integrate climate and economic development strategy across the state, including the Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery, the Regions Rise Together initiative, and the Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF), now known as California Jobs First. As founder and head of California’s interagency “climate cabinet,” she also led the creation of the first-ever integrated California climate budget as part of the Governor’s 2020 budget proposal. Gordon earned a J.D. and a Masters in City and Regional Planning from the University of California-Berkeley.

Amanda Hansen

Deputy Secretary for Climate Change

California Natural Resources Agency

Amanda Hansen joined the California Natural Resources Agency in April 2019 as the Natural Resources Agency's Deputy Secretary for Climate Change. In this role, she drives the Agency's efforts to build California's resilience to climate impacts and accelerate the contribution of nature-based solutions to meeting our ambitious climate goals. She also coordinates the Agency's national and international climate engagement. Amanda previously worked on climate issues for the Governor of New York, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and U.S. Department of State. She grew up in Takoma Park, Maryland, and earned a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University. Amanda lives in El Dorado Hills with her husband, children, and dog. They enjoy traveling, hiking, biking, camping, games, and sports such as tennis, baseball, and soccer.

Peter Prows

Partner

Briscoe Prows Kao Ivester & Bazel LLP

Peter Prows counsels public agencies, private clients, and sovereigns on all manner of water, land use, and environmental issues, from neighbor disputes and development-permit issues to national-profile bet-the-company federal litigation. He is experienced in California’s water rights and quality laws, the Clean Water Act and wetlands regulation, the Coastal Act, CEQA and NEPA, the public trust doctrine, real property, and the law of the sea. He litigates in state and federal trial and appellate courts, including the California and U.S. Supreme Courts, while also counseling clients on compliance matters to avoid disputes and help projects proceed. Mr. Prows also defends clients in environmental enforcement matters, whether administrative, civil, or criminal. He also serves on the board of Smart Coast California, an organization formed to educate the public about the importance of property rights and smart land use policies affecting California's coastline.