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Appendix E: Affordability and Displacement Everett Housing Action Plan E-17 <br />CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index <br />The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) <br />maintain a Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) as a tool developed to identify vulnerability to hazardous <br />events nationwide. The index was developed to assist public health and emergency response experts <br />to identify areas of extra concern in the event of a shock such as a natural disaster or chemical spill. <br />Many of the included variables, however, relate to housing vulnerability as well: poverty rates, <br />identifying minority communities, and housing issues like crowding. <br />This metric identifies four groups of indicators that highlight particular risk factors for local <br />populations: <br />Socioeconomic Status, including poverty rates, unemployment, income, and adults without high <br />school diplomas <br />Household Composition and Disability, including the proportion of children and seniors, single- <br />parent households, and populations with disabilities <br />Minority Status and Language, including minority status and residents that speak English “less <br />than well” <br />Housing Type and Transportation, including the number of multi-unit structures and mobile <br />homes, crowding of households, households with no vehicles, and percentage of housing as group <br />quarters <br />As expected, many of the more vulnerable populations in the city correspond to the PSRC metrics, and <br />the distribution of the index indicates that Everett has a significant concentration of more vulnerable <br />populations in Snohomish County. This reinforces the idea that Everett includes populations that are <br />likely to be more vulnerable to impacts of displacement and housing affordability issues. <br />Comparisons with Buildable Lands <br />One final element of displacement in the long-term is the immediate risk of physical displacement of <br />households due to redevelopment of housing. Snohomish County, in developing their regular Buildable <br />Lands Report to support regional growth planning, provides an assessment of growth capacity within <br />individual communities. This includes not only an assessment of how much housing can be included on <br />vacant lands, but also the capacity of sites with depreciated housing or underdeveloped parcels to <br />accommodate additional housing. <br />This can be an important measure as it highlights the housing at risk of demolition for new projects, <br />which is one way of determining the potential for physical displacement. This may not provide the full <br />range of risks, as changes in market conditions or zoning/development regulations may present <br />opportunities for new projects in the community that could also displace current residents.