The news is awash with the damage wrought by hurricanes Harvey and Irma. But these natural disasters should not have surprised anyone; they are only the latest in a string of worsening weather events that is expected to continue.

In the media and at meeting tables, conversations about communities in need of attention typically center on distressed neighborhoods on the slide down or “hot” markets where gentrification is in danger of pushing out older, original residents. What’s missing from the strategy talks, says Paul Brophy, consultant and chair of the Legacy Cities Partnership, are “middle neighborhoods.”