Bellevue-Papillion
Housing
Resilience
Study
As severe weather events intensify across the Midwest, communities are being challenged to rethink how housing is planned, built and protected. The Bellevue-Papillion Housing Resilience Study positions two growing Nebraska cities at the forefront of this conversation, demonstrating how planning can proactively safeguard housing stability, affordability and long-term community well-being.
While resilience planning often focuses on coastal hazards such as storm surge and sea-level rise, the Bellevue-Papillion Housing Resilience Study reframes resilience for a non-coastal Midwest context. In Sarpy County, federally declared disasters have nearly doubled over the past two decades, driven by wind, hail, extreme heat and localized flash flooding. These hazards increasingly threaten housing stability across the region.
Rather than reacting after disasters occur, Bellevue and Papillion partnered on a proactive, data-driven strategy. The study establishes one of the first comprehensive housing resilience frameworks in the Midwest, aligning housing, land use, infrastructure and social vulnerability to reduce risk and strengthen long-term stability.
Recognizing that severe weather disproportionately impacts renters, lower-income households, seniors and residents in older housing stock, the study prioritizes equity and affordability. Advanced GIS analysis informed the creation of Housing Resiliency Policy Areas, enabling each city to tailor strategies for no-build zones, elevated-risk areas, heat islands, aging tree-canopy neighborhoods and future growth areas. Recommendations are directly aligned with each community's Comprehensive Land Use Plan and Housing Affordability Action Plan, creating a practical roadmap for implementation through zoning, subdivision regulations and capital improvement planning.
Community engagement was foundational to the process. A hybrid model combined online tools, interactive mapping and in-person outreach to reach residents where they are. Community-generated data helped identify localized flooding and stormwater concerns not captured in traditional datasets, directly shaping infrastructure priorities.
Partnerships with affordable housing providers and nonprofits ensured that underrepresented populations were included, with multilingual materials and accessible outreach strategies expanding participation. A defining strength of the study is the collaboration between Bellevue and Papillion. Developing a single, shared housing resilience policy document fosters long-term alignment in development standards, funding strategies and emergency response coordination across city boundaries.
Funded through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars and completed on an accelerated timeline, the study emphasizes measurable outcomes, including zoning and building code updates, capital investments and household-level education efforts. Ultimately, its success will be measured by reduced displacement and improved housing stability following severe weather events.
The Bellevue-Papillion Housing Resilience Study demonstrates how planning can move beyond hazard response toward long-term resilience to protect people, preserve affordability and prepare Midwest communities for an increasingly uncertain climate future.