Maui's Miraculous Feat: Staving off ‘Disaster Capitalism’ in the Wake of Wildfire

After the 2023 Lahaina wildfires on Maui, community leaders leveraged decades of relationship-building to create the Lahaina Community Land Trust (LCLT)—a vehicle to prevent displacement, keep land local, and redefine wealth through cultural stewardship. Rather than allow “disaster capitalism” to drive speculative buyouts, LCLT quickly incorporated, launched fundraising, and established community-centered land criteria with survivors, cultural practitioners, attorneys, and public officials.

This article argues that rapid, equitable recovery depends on relational infrastructure built long before crisis—and that crisis opens up the chance to make bigger changes than were possible during "normal" times.

It documents how candid conversations—even with real estate professionals—produced voluntary practices to slow distress sales. Lahaina’s approach reframes disaster response as an opportunity to hardwire community control and long-term resilience, offering a replicable framework for post-disaster housing and land justice in other places.