Climate Change is Accelerating Gentrification in Miami

The term “climate gentrification” was first used by lawyer and professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Jesse M. Keenan. Climate gentrification refers to a new urban crisis affecting cities all over the world.

A person walks through a flooded street in downtown Miami (Source: Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

“The basic idea is that substitute investments in less vulnerable or highly resilient urban areas will operate to accelerate speculative investment, fueling gentrification and displacement. As the impacts of climate change drive people away from afflicted areas, these residents relocate to — and gentrify — less-vulnerable neighborhoods.”

One of the regions most impacted by both climate change and gentrification is Miami-Dade County, Florida. Miami’s priciest real estate has historically been located on the coastlines due to the scenic beach views. The working-class residents and new immigrants typically could only afford to live in mainland Miami. However, with climate change causing an increase in the number of natural disasters and sea level rise, residents on the coastlines are beginning to move inward and flee from their beach homes to higher ground. The average elevation of the Miami area is 6 feet above sea level, with the highest elevation on the mainland at 25 feet above sea level. As the sea levels quickly rise, Miami becomes more at risk of experiencing devastating floods, with the coastlines being most vulnerable. This new reality is causing the property values and rents of neighborhoods in mainland Miami to skyrocket, and new developments with wealthier residents are beginning to take over these once culturally diverse communities.

(Source: Alex Harris, the Miami Herald)

Little Haiti is one of the communities most affected by climate gentrification. The neighborhood lies inland of Miami’s coastline Upper East Side. With the data from the 2000 U.S. Census, the City of Miami Planning Department recorded the demographics of different neighborhoods of Miami. As for Little Haiti, the median household income was $18,887.49, making it one of the neighborhoods with the lowest average income in Miami. Now it is considered to be one of South Florida’s hottest neighborhoods, with the original residents being forced out. A report prepared by the real estate company Zillow estimated that the rate at which homes in Little Haiti are selling is now the fastest rate not only in Miami-Dade County, but also the neighboring counties of Broward and Palm Beach. Little Haiti is gentrifying quickly, with climate change acting as the catalyst. As Nicholas Nehamas, a reporter for the Miami Herald, explains:

“Some business owners and residents are worried they could be forced out by the wave of cash, and that Little Haiti’s unique cultural heritage is under siege.”

Little Haiti started out as a diverse and vibrant neighborhood where less desirable land meant more affordable housing for immigrants settling in Miami. The irony of climate gentrification in Miami neighborhoods like Little Haiti, is that for tens of years the zoning and Jim Crow laws in Miami concentrated the black residents to an urban core of older development which sits atop relatively high elevation. Many of these neighborhoods which were once redlined, now have a new advantageous feature when searching for real estate: they are less likely to flood during a climate disaster or with sea level rise since they are on higher ground. Marleine Bastien, the founder of Haitian Women of Miami explains the current residents’ frustrations:

“We were left to fend for ourselves in this depressed and drug-infested area. Now, out of sheer resilience and determination, Little Haiti is this vibrant, culturally interesting, culturally rich neighborhood, now it’s too good for us?”

Climate gentrification not only poses the problem of historic communities losing their character and diversity, but also leads to a migration concern. A study by a University of Georgia demographer, Matthew Hauer, predicts that up to 2.5 million people will leave Florida due to sea level rise by the end of the century, and 13 million people in the United States will be displaced by the rising sea levels. Where will those displaced by climate change and gentrification go? Staying in Miami after being forced out of their homes located upon higher elevation would mean settling for a house in a dangerously low elevated area. As environmental attorney, Albert Slap, points out, “there’s no insurance for sea-level rise. There’s no easy fix if people can’t get mortgages or can’t find a place to live”. This new reality leaves the residents dislocated by climate gentrification stuck. Many of them chose where they currently live due to the affordable prices. But as areas with higher elevation become increasingly out of their reach financially, they are left with the only economically viable option of moving to an area with lower elevation, or leaving their home state of Florida entirely.

Clearly, there is an urgent need of some creative solutions and new policies from Miami-Dade County, Florida’s state government, and concerned non-profit organizations. Otherwise, climate gentrification will continue to grow and spread, displacing people from the safety of higher elevation and leaving them to fend for themselves and find a new home.