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February 2025: housing justice in a warming world

Each month, we break down our topic into four weekly modules. Catch up on previous editions here.​

This week's module: ACT

• ✅ CONNECT | Conversation prompts to guide your visions of housing justice​
• ✅ LEARN | How does housing intersect with climate justice?​
• 🎯 ACT | What activities and actions can we take towards building equitable housing that benefits people and planet? (TODAY)
• REFLECT | How do we build more empathy into our justice practices and work across issue areas? (2/26/25)

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Here's what we'll learn today Reader

Hey!! Guess what? I WAS ON TV YESTERDAY!!

Yes, it was the local channel, and yes, probably 5 people total outside of Soapbox watched it, BUT IT WAS SO FUN!! Here's the link if you want to watch it; it's a 5-min clip.

My ego has been starved for external validation so this was really great. I am a nuisance once again!

Right after my TV segment, I headed over to set up Soapbox Seattle where we took action on housing x climate justice... just like we're about to do here right now!

As a reminder, February's topic is "housing in a warming world" and if you missed our CONNECT and LEARN modules, catch up here.

Ready to take action? Let's gooooo

Upcoming Soapbox events

• NYC TOMORROW! Feb 20 in NYC: plant-based supper club: housing x climate edition (only 4 spots left)
• ​Feb 25 in Seattle: art + reflection night on housing & climate solutions​
• ** NEW CITY LAUNCH: LA** March 4 in LA: community dinner & joyful climate action party​
• ​March 4 in Seattle: climate concert & connection | how do we create the economy of the future?​

​Our entire events calendar can be found here.​

Your bite-sized action plan Reader

✅ ACT towards an equitable & climate-resilient housing system worldwide

If you live in a city that's leading the way on housing (like Vienna, for example), instead of taking one of these actions below, please reply with some stories/pictures of your experiences! Part of taking action is showing people the beautiful realm of possibilities.

If you live somewhere like the USA that prioritizes cars over people 🙃, here are some things you can do:

• Make your home climate resilient. Change starts in your own backyard, or in this case, in your very own home. No matter where in the world you live, in the next decade, you'll see an increase in heat waves, wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and other extreme climate events. This sucks!! And I hope you are so safe from all of them, and it's time to start thinking of how to make your home climate resilient. Here's a guide from fire-prone Sonoma County in California, but I found it to be quite relevant for a range of geographies. Grist has some very cool future-forward ideas as always, and this PDF shows you how to electrify everything in your home, even for renters!
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• Then get your neighbors involved. Many cities are working on their own climate resilience programs. See if there are any available near you, because sometimes they come with funding and tax incentives! (RIP United States, but our cities are still kickin.) You can also make a friendly sign for your yard/window to show that you're someone who wants to welcome more housing in your area. Here are some examples, and a file with PDFs is at the end of this Changeletter.

• Create your own pro-housing stickers to put up in your neighborhood! You may have heard that one of the best things you can do as a climate solution is to talk about it. Well, it's time to show people that we care about the planet and we care about each other! All you need is label paper (you can use name tags for this too) and laminate which is basically a clear plastic sheet that keeps your sticker water-resistant. We made some at Soapbox Seattle this week and it was AWESOME! The PDF file at the end contains instructions and more examples.

• Write to your local representative or city planner advocating for more affordable, equitable, and resilient housing/urban spaces. Every city has SOMEONE whose job it is to plan the city, which includes planning where housing can be built, how much, what types, etc. Their info is really easy to find! Reach out to them and ask them hey! I'm [me]. I love living in [city] and I am hoping to learn more about advocating for affordable and climate-resilient housing so I can continue to live in [city]. What are my options?
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• KNOW. YOUR. NEIGHBORS!! This is an eternal climate action! When you have less community around you, you are at greater risk for displacement (especially if you have less resources/are from a community of color). Know your neighbors! You don't even have to like them! But whether you're fighting for a compost in your apartment building, the right to put solar panels on your house that's controlled by a HomeOwners Association, or making policy changes, knowing your neighbors helps so much. Also, you're more likely to survive in a climate emergency. I care about you so much, so please say hi to a neighbor this week!

Here's the PDF with the window/yard sign and sticker activity: Housing ACT.pdf​

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Next week it'll be time for reflection on housing x climate justice. Thanks for keeping up!

Love,

Nivi

P.S. huuuuuge shoutout to Soapbox Seattle Creative Committee co-Lead Lauren F. for facilitating the sticker activity that we got from @gogreensavegreen!