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8/20/2019 Miami-Dade in Hot Water:Why Building Equitable Climate Resilience is Key to Public Health and Economic Stability…
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Miami-Dade in Hot Water
Why Building Equitable Climate Resilience is Key
to Public Health and Economic Stability in South Florida
By Cathleen Kelly, Miranda Peterson, and Madeleine Boel January 2016
WWW.AMERICANPROGRESS.O
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Miami-Dade in Hot Water
Why Building Equitable Climate Resilience is Key
to Public Health and Economic Stability in South Florida
By Cathleen Kelly, Miranda Peterson, and Madeleine Boel January 2016
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1 Introduction and summary
3 A magnet for migration: Miami-Dade’s population boom
5 Climate change risks are not equally shared
11 Climate change intensifies Miami-Dade’s
extreme weather risks
17 Resilience plans without accountability
21 Policy recommendations
25 Conclusion
27 Endnotes
Contents
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1 Center for American Progress | Miami-Dade in Hot Water
Introduction and summary
Miami-Dade Couny is amous or is warm Alanic beaches and vas Everglades
marshlands ha draw millions o sun-seeking vacaioners every year. Tis global
ourism mecca on Florida’s Souheasern ip is also he sel-proclaimed “gaeway
o Lain America and he Caribbean” and a major rade, banking, and real esae
hub.1 Bu in recen years, Miami-Dade’s image as a haven or hose seeking careree
subropical living has been conroned by a new phenomenon. Climae change
is bringing more flooding, exreme hea, and oher impacs ha affec he way
people live, work, and even vacaion in his low-lying couny.
In Miami-Dadehe Unied Saes’ sevenh mos populous counyhe symp-
oms o climae change are undeniable.2 Te sea level has risen abou a oo since
he pre-indusrial days o he 1870s, and he increase is expeced o accelerae in
coming years, wih projecions o up o 6.8 ee sea level rise by 2100.3 Flooded
srees are becoming rouine even on sunny days, riggered no by exreme sorms
bu by high ide.4 Rising seas will exacerbae he impac o hurricanes, which
remain ever-presen hreas. Te number o days wih emperaures higher han 95
degrees Fahrenhei in Florida and oher Souheasern saes has seadily increased
since 1970, puting he healh o residens a risk.5 Tese dangerous climae
change effecs pack he hardes punch in he couny’s sizeable low-income com-
muniies, which lack he economic sabiliy and qualiy housing o saely weaher
he sifling hea and flooding ha are par o he new normal.
Despie hese risks, a majoriy o residens and leaders in Miami-Dade are jus
saring o consider building resilience o he consequences o climae change.
I couny leaders ac quickly, hey can ake advanage o opporuniies o build
climae change resilience in ways ha suppor equiable economic growh and
allow all Souh Florida communiies o hrive in he 21s cenury. Some o heseopporuniies include:
• Prioriizing climae change resilience and miigaion saring wih implemening
exising couny recommendaions and embedding climae risk reducion man-
agemen ino planning and policies across all couny governmen offices.
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Miami Beach
Miami
Miami-Dade county
Atlantic Ocean
Biscayne Bay
Florida Bay
Gulf of Mexico
Everglades Wetlands
FIGURE 1
Miami-Dade County
• Improving public knowledge o climae change risks hrough educaion and
oureach o he couny’s diverse communiies.
• Creaing a public climae change orum o ensure Miami-Dade residens receive
an opporuniy o voice heir concerns and ideas or srenghening equiable
resilience o Couny officials.
•Mapping social and climae vulnerabiliy and developing resilience soluionsusing daa and communiy inpu o help planners and emergency responders
ocus resources on addressing he mos urgen resilience needs.
• Srenghening and leveraging social cohesion o help Miami-Dade’s low-income
communiies prepare or climae change impacs, and expand knowledge o
available resources o build climae resilience.
• Leveraging communiy organizaion srenghs o help couny leaders com-
municae wih low-income residens and provide resilience assisance o hose
vulnerable o climae change risks.
• Planning or sorm displacemen beore i happens by prioriizing exreme
weaher preparedness and incorporaing lessons learned rom oher mero-polian regions ha experienced mass displacemen o residens by exreme
sorm damage.
By aking hese seps, couny leaders can make rapid progress oward building
equiable climae change resilience across Miami-Dade Couny. In addiion o
describing hese seps in more deail below, his repor assesses he growing risks
o climae change in Miami-Dade Couny, paricularly in low-income areas.
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A magnet for migration:
Miami-Dade’s population boom
Souh Florida’s beauiul beaches and sraegic rade locaion atrac no only our-
iss and businesspeople bu also amilies seeking jobs and a high qualiy o lie. In
2014, 6 million people lived in he neighboring counies o Miami-Dade, Broward,
Monroe and Palm Beach.6 Te collecive populaion o hese our counies is
expeced o grow by almos 800,000 people in he nex 15 years.7
In 2014, Miami-Dade alone had over 2.6 million residens, roughly hal o whom
were oreign-born. High levels o immigraion are projeced o coninue, and hecouny’s populaion is expeced o grow 18 percen by 2030 o 3.1 million people.8
Tis populaion surge is parly due o Miami-Dade’s rapid economic growh. Te
gross domesic produc, or GDP, o he Miami meropolian areawhich consiss
o he ciies o Miami, For Lauderdale and Wes Palm Beachincreased 3 per-
cen in 2014, or 0.6 percen higher han he naional growh rae. 9
Bu no all Miami-Dade residens have access o his prosperiy. Currenly, close
o 60 percen o Miami-Dade households are considered financially unsable,
and one in five households live in povery.10 Povery levels are he highes among
Arican American and Hispanic communiies, which ogeher make up 85 percen
o Miami-Dade’s populaion.11 Alhough counywide unemploymen dropped
beween 2010 and 2012, povery raes increased during ha same imerame.12
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Counies whose populaions grow bigger by he day increase heir risk o damage
due o flooding and he impac o exreme weaher evens in Souh Florida coun-
ies. Moreover, climae change hreaens o derail he region’s economic growh
and harm residensmany o whom are srapped or cash. As he populaion con-
inues o grow alongside climae change hazards, couny leaders have no choice
bu o prioriize managemen o hese cosly and dangerous risks.
FIGURE 2
Population and poverty in Miami-Dade County
Poverty grows alongside climate change risks
The authors compiled data from the following sources: Miami-Dade County Department of Planning and Zoning, Research Section,"Miami-Dade County At a Glance" (2007), available at http://www.miamidade.gov/planning/library/reports/at-a-glance/2007-poverty.pdf;Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, Planning Research Section, "Miami-Dade County At-A-Glance: Poverty inMiami-Dade" (2013), available at http://www.miamidade.gov/planning/library/reports/at-a-glance/2012-poverty.pdf; Florida Office ofEconomic and Demographic Research, "Projections of Florida Population by County, 2015-2040, with Estimates for 2014," available at
http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/population-demographics/data/Medium_Projections.pdf (last accessed January 2016); Florida Office ofEconomic and Demographic Research, "Population and Population Change for Metropolitan Statistical Areas in Florida," available athttp://edr.state.fl.us/Content/population-demographics/data/MSA-2015.pdf (last accessed January 2016).
Population
People in poverty
1980 1990 2000 2010 2014 2020 2030 2040
Projections based on historical 2013 data
1.6M1.9M
2.5M2.5M 2.6M
2.8M3.1M
3.3M
244K
349K406K
519K557K
596K658K
712K
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Climate change risks
are not equally shared
All communiies are affeced by more exreme weaher and oher climae change
effecs, bu hese risks are no shared equally in a world o growing inequiies.13
Floods and sorms easily damage aging or poorly consruced housing and inra-
srucure, which are common in low-income communiies. In he wake o an
exreme weaher even, los wages and oher financial hardships can push already
sruggling amilies ino povery. Low-income individuals, individuals wih low
English proficiency, and immigrans have hisorically had a hard ime accessing and
overcoming bureaucraic challenges o pos-disaser aid.14 A he local governmenlevel, lower ax bases and lack o poliical access o higher levels o governmen can
also affec low-income communiies’ abiliy o harness pos-disaser resources.15
In 1992, Hurricane Andrewa Caegory 5 sorm wih winds ranging up o 175
miles per hourhi Souh Florida, causing damage o $46 billion in 2015 dollars.16
In Miami-Dade, Andrew desroyed 25,000 homes and ook 15 lives.17 However, some
o he mos sizeable and lasing impacs happened in Florida Ciy, a small Miami-
Dade municipaliy souh o downown Miami ha was hi by he eye o he sorm.18
In 1990, 37 percen o Florida Ciy residens lived in povery, making i one o he
poores owns in he Unied Saes.19 Afer Andrew, single-amily homes in Florida
Ciy los 81 percen o heir value. Home values would no recover unil 2000.20
By conras, he neighboring municipaliy o Homesead, which had a srong own
governmen and home values o $10,000 or greaer, bounced back rom Andrew
more quickly.21 Afer Andrew, single-amily homes in Homesead los 47 percen
o heir value, bu ook only wo years o recover.22 By 2000, median incomes in
Homesead grew, ollowing naional rends, while Florida Ciy median incomes
dropped and povery raes increased.23
Nearly 60 percen o Miami-Dade households lack he adequae savings needed o
live above he ederal povery level or hree or more consecuive monhs; anoher
crippling sorm could be devasaing or hese households.24 Miami-Dade policy
leaders and residens alike will need o careully craf climae resilience and miigaion
sraegies ha recognize he realiy o sraified economic opporuniy and vulnerabil-
iy o he couny’s op climae hreas: sea level rise, exreme sorms, and exreme hea.
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The financial squeeze of a rising sea
According o he Risky Business Projeca nonparisan research projec ocused
on he economic risks o climae changeno U.S. sae sands o lose more o
rising seas han Florida.25 In 15 years, an addiional $69 billion o insurable, pri-
vae propery will be a risk o high ide flooding.26
By 2030, expers predic haFlorida will suffer $15 billion in real esae flood losses.27
Te Miami-Dade municipaliy o Miami Beach, a barrier island and one o he
sae’s mos climae-vulnerable ciies, is also one o is mos profiable ouris
desinaions. In 2014, 14.5 million ouriss sayed overnigh in Miami-Dade and
spen $23.7 billion.28 Many o hese ouriss say a one o Miami Beach’s prime
real esae properiesogeher valued a $27 billion bu highly vulnerable o
sea level rise. Sories o ouriss changing vacaion plans and checking ou o
heir hoels early are becoming more common as flooding due o high ide or
rainall becomes a nuisance ha blocks access o atracions, businesses, andamous Miami Beach hoel lobbies.29 Some local business owners have repored
revenue losses o 15 percen on days wih flooding.30
PorMiamiwhich is adjacen o Miami Beach on Dodge Island in Biscayne
Bayis equally as valuable and vulnerable. Te por suppors 207,000 jobs and
moves $28 billion annually, making i he couny’s second mos valuable economic
asse.31 No only is he por a cargo hub, bu i is also he arrival locaion o nearly
5 million cruise ship ouriss every year.32 According o PorMiami’s “2035 Maser
Plan,” sea level rise and global climae change are major hreas o is uure.33
A changing climae and coasline will have vas impacs on he uncionaliy o
he Miami-Dade economy, paricularly or he low- and middle-income house-
holds who depend on i. Te rade, ransporaion, and uiliies secor provides 26
percen o couny jobs and an average annual income o $44,068.34 Te leisure and
hospialiy secor accouns or more han 12 percen o all employmen wihin he
couny and provides an average wage o $27,544 per year. 35 ogeher hese wo
climae-affeced secors provide nearly 400,000 jobs.36
While leaders o he Ciy o Miami and he Ciy o Miami Beachhome o someo he couny’s mos high-income assesrecognize he need o comba climae
change risks, his does litle o proec commuers who live in lower-income
areas and ravel ino coasal and downown municipaliies or work. For example,
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when businesses are damaged and roads are blocked due o flooding, many com-
muers lose working hours or canno reach heir jobsa preeminen sress in a
couny ha already considers raffic a major concern.37 Far rom he beaches, in
low- and middle-income communiies where housing coss are low and our-
is atracions are ew, here is minimal recogniion by municipal leaders o he
dangers o floods and oher climae change risks.
Higher seas further strain Miami-Dade’s Everglades wetlands
Miami-Dade Couny lies across porous limesone land ha hugs he Alanic Coas
an average o 4.9 ee above sea level.38 Te wesern edge o he couny lies in he
cener o he Florida peninsula, which is home o he larges reshwaer marsh in he
naion: Everglades Naional Park and Everglades Wildlie Managemen Area.39 Te
majoriy o Miami-Dade’s developmen sis on he narrow srip o dry land beween
hese naural borders, which creaes several pressing problems or he couny as seasrise.40 Coasal flooding rom he swelling ocean is washing away beaches, damaging
roads, and puting homes and businesses a risk.41 As he Florida Bay pushes more
waer inland, he couny will be squeezed by he encroaching Everglades.
Climae change, however, will affec Miami-Dade’s naural environmen in more
ways ha jus consricing he availabiliy o dry land. As he sea level rises, dense
salwaer inrudes ino Souh Florida’s reshwaer sysem, harming he ragile
Everglades ecosysem wih unsusainable waer levels and increased saliniy. Te
Everglades is he only large weland sysem in he world suppored by precipia-
ion.42 I rainall levels decline here will be less reshwaer o suppor he ecosys-
em and push back agains salwaer inrusion. Increased emperaures will also
risk he evaporaion o much-needed reshwaer.43
Tese effecs hreaen he Everglades’ vas mangrove oress, which can scrub
more carbon dioxide ou o he amosphere han any oher ype o erresrial
ores.44 Carbon dioxide is he main driver o climae change; he loss o man-
grove oress and heir carbon-sink properies exacerbaes he region’s conribu-
ion o global climae change.
Afer years o concered effors o drain he Everglades o creae more dry land
or developmen, many Souh Florida leaders are now banking on iniiaives o
resore he Everglades o proec he region rom sea level rise. Te Everglades,
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and oher welands, provide unmached naural flood proecion. One acre o
welands is able o sore up o 1.5 million gallons o floodwaer.45 Miami-Dade
Couny plays an acive role in he Souh Florida Ecosysem Resoraion ask
Force ha collaboraes wih he ederal governmen o rehabiliae his valuable
ecosysem.46 Ye while he ask Force works o resore he Everglades, oher
orces driven by a changing climae are working agains i.
Te quicker he Everglades reurn o heir ormer healh, he more capable he
welands will be o wihsanding sea level rise, higher emperaures, and erraic
rainall paterns. I resored, he Everglades will be able o help proec densely
populaed Miami-Dade rom more inense sorm surges during hurricanes and
coninue o suppor he region’s drinking waer.
Bailing out Miami-Dade’s water infrastructure
As he subropical waers surrounding Miami-Dade Couny warm and expand due
o rising global emperaures and meling polar ice, he sea level rises and burdens
he region’s waer resources and inrasrucure.
Salwaer is seeping ino and conaminaing Souh Florida’s main source
o reshwaerhe Biscayne Aquierwhich suppors 7 million people.47
According o local Florida Alanic Universiy, he salwaer can move hrough
Florida’s limesone oundaion and reach as ar as 10 miles inland.48 In ligh o
hese risks, some Miami-Dade municipaliies, like Hallandale Beach, no longer
use all heir drinking waer wells and have plans o adap by moving waer inra-
srucure urher inland.49
Rising seas are also causing higher and longer-lasing idal inundaions ha
hreaen Miami-Dade’s already overburdened waer inrasrucure.50 Souh
Florida’s sormwaer drainage sysems were designed o rely on graviy o pull
exra waer down hrough he limesone bedrock. Bu upward pressure rom rising
seas is leaving less room or floodwaers o drain. When rain sorms come hrough
or king ide his, his lack o space in he groundwaer sysem causes sewers and
drains o overflow, blocking roads and damaging propery.
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No all o Miami-Dade’s waer inrasrucure issues are a resul o climae change.
For a number o years, Miami-Dade’s Board o Commissioners siphoned waer
inrasrucure mainenance unds or oher projecs.51 In 2012, his negligence
and he resuling overflowing sewage sysem atraced he atenion o he U.S.
Environmenal Proecion Agency, or EPA.52 Te couny now has a $1.6 billion
15-year plan o updae is sewage and sormwaer inrasrucure, driven by a 2013
Clean Waer Ac setlemen wih he EPA.53
While hese upgrades will be a significan improvemen or residens over he
saus quo, he U.S. disric cour did no require he couny o ake sea level rise
or sorm surge ino accoun.54 As a resul o communiy criicismmainly rom
he Biscayne Bay Waerkeeper, now known as he Miami Waerkeeper, who
atemped o block he cour agreemen because i did no ake climae change
risks ino accounhe Miami-Dade Board o Commissioners passed a resolu-
ion in May 2014 saying ha all new inrasrucure projecs or upgrades “shall
consider” sea level rise and sorm surge.55
Note: For more information on sea level rise and salt water intrusion, please see Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact Sea Level Rise Work Group, “Unified Sea Level Rise Projection” (2015), avahttp://www.southeastfloridaclimatecompact.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/2015-Compact-Unified-Sea-Level-Rise-Projection.pdf; Florida Oceans and Coastal Council, “Climate Change and Sea Level Ris
Florida: An Update on the Effects of Climate Change on Florida’s Ocean and Coastal Resources” (2015), available at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/oceanscouncil/reports/climate_change_and_sea_level_rise.pdfIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, "Climate Change 2007: Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: Freshwater resources" (2007), available at https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_an
data/ar4/wg2/en/ch6s6-4-2-1.html.
FIGURE 3
Sea level rise puts the squeeze on South Florida
How rising seas and saltwater intrusion pose a threat to life in Miami-Dade County
Biscayne Bay
salt water
Florida Bay
salt water
Biscayne aquifer
freshwater
Salty
ground water
Everglades Limestone land
Old well
Salty
ground water
Mixing
zone
New wellSea level rise
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Perhaps due o he atenion ha he EPA lawsui brough o he couny’s aging
waer inrasrucure, in 2015 he couny embarked on a wo decade $11.9 bil-
lion wasewaer and waer disribuion capial improvemen program.56 Te
plan seeks o upgrade he couny’s waer inrasrucure o mee exising and new
sae and ederal regulaions, improve waer efficiency, and help mee he needs
o a growing populaion.57
As a new inrasrucure projec, he plan mus ulfillhe Board o Commissioners’ resoluion requiremens o consider sea level rise
and sorm surge in is designs.58
Te municipaliy o Miami Beach is working wih he sae o carry ou a $300 mil-
lion plan o insall 60 new sormwaer pumps o reduce flooding risks.59 In 2015,
10 o he pumps were insalled and proved capable o keeping some ciy blocks dry
when he Ocober king ide hi.60 However, he projec has creaed oher problems.
Soon afer he pumps were insalled, hydrologiss a he local Florida Inernaional
Universiy ound increased levels o polluion in Biscayne Bayhe oule or he waer pumps. Te Bay’s waer now conains increased levels o phosphorus and
nirogen because flood waer was pumped hrough soil laden wih erilizers and
animal eces.61 As flood risks rise, local and sae officials will need o work quickly
wih planners o improve he Bay’s waer qualiy.
Alhough Miami Beach has ye o char a clear pah o climae resilience, ciy officials
are deermined o adap o rising sea levels. Much o he municipaliy’s unding or
is plan is dependen on he ax base brough by developmen. Ye, i Miami Beach is
o succeed in unding is climae resilience plan i will have o encourage even more
developmen wihin is flood plain, which will compound flood risks and oher envi-
ronmenal sressors ha increase he ciy ’s vulnerabiliy o climae change.62
While he Board o Commissioners’ 2014 sea level rise resoluion was a sep in
he righ direcion, he exen o which inrasrucure developers are analyzing sea
level rise risks and alering heir designs o reduce hem is unclear. Wihou imme-
diae acion o build inrasrucure resilience, curren waer sysem challenges
hroughou he couny are likely o be compounded when he nex exreme sorm
srikesa worrying prospec or a couny requenly in he pah o hurricanes.63
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Climate change intensifies Miami-
Dade’s extreme weather risks
In addiion o slow-onse impacs such as sea level rise, climae change also
increases he srengh and requency o exreme weaher evens around he globe.
In Souh Florida, specifically, exreme sorms and hea waves pose he greaes
hrea o Miami-Dade Couny.
Extreme rain
In early December 2015, record rain in Miami-Dade creaed flooding and head-
aches on one o he couny’s busies ouris weekends o he year: he opening
weekend or he inernaionally amous Ar Basel esival.64 One o he region’s op
economic and culural prioriies is atracing more ariss hrough such iniia-
ives.65 Ye, he deluge challenged his goaland showcased a sympom o climae
change’s impac on he region’s weaher sysems.
As global emperaures warm, more waer evaporaes ino he amosphere and
resuls in prolonged periods wihou rainall, ollowed by heavy downpours. Te
December rain even was one o many rain-induced flood evens ha he couny
experienced in 2015.66 Similar exreme rainsorms have caused exensive and
deadly flooding in oher ciies, including Houson, exas, which in spring 2015
was hi by a wave o heavy downpours ha caused widespread damage.67
Since rainsorms are difficul o prepare or and are ofen perceived as less o
a hrea han hurricanes, mos governmen atenion goes owards hurricane
preparedness.68 Unlike wih hurricane racking, exreme rain can be more difficul
o predic and governmen leaders are less likely o aler residens, call or evacu-
aion, or acivae shelers. Afer a rainsorm passes, pooling can creae a checker- board o flooding, cuting people off rom emergency services.69 While Alanic
hurricane season only lass rom June hrough November, severe rainsorms can
srike Miami-Dade Couny a any ime.70
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Hurricanes
Souh Florida is on he receiving end o he norhern Alanic’s Hurricane Alley,
a warm-waer nursery or ropical sorms ha sars on he wes coas o Arica.
According o he U.S. Naional Oceanic and Amospheric Adminisraion, or
NOAA, Miami-Dade has a 48 percen chance o being hi by a hurricane orropical sorm during hurricane season.71 However, he U.S. has no winessed
a major sormCaegory 3 or highersince 2005, when Hurricane Wilma
batered he Miami meropolian region as a Caegory 3 sorm wih winds o
120 miles per hour.72 According o NASA, a major hurricane drough lasing
more han nine years may occur on average in he Unied Saes once every 177
years.73 In Florida, however, he absence o a hurricanemajor or nohas
been an even lower probabiliy since Wilma: Florida is he only sae ha has
no been hi by a hurricane since 2005. 74
Given he sae’s high exposure o severe sorms in any year, exreme weaher isranked as one o Florida’s op securiy hreas.75 In ligh o his concern, Miami-
Dade’s Chie Resilience Officer James Murley old he auhors ha local, sae, and
ederal emergency managemen proessionals coordinae and prepare or ropical
sorm hreas year-round.76
Tis concern or exreme weaher preparedness, however, may no exend o
residens. Kamalah Flecher, senior direcor o communiy engagemen a
Caalys Miami, a povery-ocused communiy organizaion – worries ha
Souh Florida’s luck wih hurricanes may run ou soon and creae a danger-
ous siuaion, especially or new residens who lack experience preparing or
exreme sorms and knowledge o local emergency proocol.77 In an inerview
wih he auhors, Flecher said ha Florida residens and leaders are “geting
comorable and orgeting how you behave when you hink somehing is more
imminen.”78 She is concerned ha Miami-Dade residens are no ye aware o
he real dangers o climae change and more exreme weaher emergencies.
According o a 2015 Mason-Dixon Florida Poll, one in hree Floridians would
no evacuae heir homes or an impending Caegory 1 hurricane, even i ordered
o do so by emergency managemen proessionals.79
Te poll repored ha mosFloridians el a lack o concern abou being hi by a hurricane in 2015 or el
vulnerable o poenial sorm damage.80
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Hurricane flood prevention is necessary but overlooked
Miami-Dade has some o he sronges wind resisance building codes in he
world.81 Bu he couny lacks similar codes or flood prevenion, such as a require-
men o elevae new and subsanially improved buildings and homes. While
some wealhy developers are beginning o design hoels and condos wih so-called wash-ou floors, mos real esae wihin he couny is a risk o being damaged by
flooding rom exreme sorms and slow-onse sea level rise.82
Miami-Dade has more han 1.4 million people living wihin is 100-year coasal
flood plain, including more han 21,000 people living in vulnerable mobile
homes.83 Tis concenraion o people in high flood-risk areas, coupled wih an
overloaded sormwaer sysem and he poenial or dangerous sorm surge, pus
Miami-Dade a risk o sudden caasrophic flooding.
Limited mobility puts Miami-Dade residents at risk
In 2013, Miami-Dade Couny updaed is hurricane evacuaion zone mapping.84
Te updaed maps call on 1.8 million residenshree imes previous esimaes
o be prepared or evacuaion procedures.85 In 2015, corresponding sheler, evacu-
aion assisance, and evacuaion roue bus pick-up locaion plans were updaed by
he couny, bu no all resource maerials have been ranslaed or people wih low
English proficiency.86 Ensuring ha residens are aware o evacuaion services is
key o public saey, paricularly or he couny’s low-income communiies.
As repored in early 2013, more han 111,000 Miami-Dade households do no
have a personal vehicle and depend largely on he couny’s limied public rans-
poraion opions, such as he bus sysem, or mobiliy.87 Hisorically, lack o
personal ransporaion has been a major conribuing acor o low-income com-
muniies’ inabiliy o ollow evacuaion procedures when sorms have hreaened
he Unied Saes. According o he Federal ransi Adminisraion, more han
14 percen o Miami-Dade households would require assisance in he even o a
major evacuaion.88 Caroline Lewisexecuive direcor o Climae Engagemen
Leadership Opporuniies, or he CLEO Insiue, which specializes in engagingresidens wih climae change science, seriousness, and soluionsis concerned
ha he couny’s low-income communiies will be lef behind o weaher he dan-
gers and damages o he nex big sorm.89 In an inerview wih he auhors, Lewis
said, “Tose o us ha can drive away will. Bu counless ohers will be suck.”90
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The risks of mass displacement run high
In addiion o acue public saey risks, widespread propery damage could per-
manenly push couny residens rom heir homes. Wih high-raes o financial
insabiliy, mos Miami-Dade residens canno afford o repair or rebuild homes
and businesses damaged by flooding. Likewise, many who are provided evacua-ion services are unlikely o be able o afford a rip home.
Te combinaion o physical and financial vulnerabiliy wihin he Miami me-
ropolian area creaes he poenial or disrupion on par wih recen mass dis-
placemen evens in he Unied Saes. For example, in 2012, Hurricane Sandy
displaced 776,000 people rom meropolian New York Ciy and caused $68 bil-
lion in losses across he counry.91 In 2005, Hurricane Karina displaced a record
1.5 million people rom meropolian New Orleans wih $151 billion in naional
losses in 2015 dollars.92
According o caasrophe risk managemen consulancy Karen Clark and
Company, i a sorm wih winds o 200 miles per hour made a direc hi o
Miamia scenario similar o ha o he recen Pacific-basin Hurricane Paricia
i would cos an unprecedened $300 billion in losses.93 In a couny o almos 3
million people, he human losses would be immeasurable.
Rising temperatures and growing health threats
In addiion o he growing risks o more exreme sorms and sea-level rise,
Florida and he enire Souheasern region o he Unied Saes is geting hoter.
Compared wih is hisorical climae, by 2040 he region is projeced o experi-
ence more han 50 addiional 95-degree daysor hoterper year.94 According
o NOAA, in 2014 climae change boosed he rae and srengh o hea waves
naionally.95 In addiion o driving more inense droughs ha are projeced o
urher disrup he waer cycle on which he Everglades and Biscayne Aquier
depend, hoter emperaures also hreaen public healh.
Unlike oher pars o he counry, he Florida peninsula benefis rom prevail-ing winds ha preven serious air polluion problems.96 While Miami-Dade as
a whole is repored o experience “good and moderae” air qualiy year round,
no all residens have access o clean air. According o he EPA’s environmenal
jusice screening and mapping ool, he wors air qualiy in he couny is con-
cenraed in low-income areas.97
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Warm air ineracs wih polluion rom vehicles and acories, acceleraing he or-
maion o harmul air polluion.98 In raffic-ridden Souh Florida, climae change
will urher exacerbae he risk o respiraory and cardiac illnesses, including
ashma and hear atacks.99 Tese diseases are paricularly prevalen in urban areas
wih similar demographic make-ups o ha o Miami-Dade Couny.100
High emperaures can also lead o hea-relaed illnesses, paricularly among
low-income people. Many poor Miami-Dade residens do no have or canno
afford o use air condiioning, which reduces he risks o hea-relaed illnesses by
cooling he air.101 In addiion, hose living in socially unsable areas may lock heir
windows and doors or saey reasons.102 Tis reduces airflow, raises indoor air
emperaures, and elevaes he risk o hea-relaed illness. In 2014, 36 people were
hospialized in Miami-Dade Couny or hea-relaed illness.103
Miami-Dade is also disproporionaely a risk o disease epidemics compared
wih oher U.S. areas. A warmer and more waerlogged environmen can leado increased breeding o pess like mosquios, which are vecors or diseases
like malaria and dengue ever.104 Addiionally, Miami’s saus as a ransporaion
gaeway beween naions makes i vulnerable o firs-enrance o ropical diseases
rom Cenral and Souh America.105 According o Miami-Dade’s Comprehensive
Emergency Managemen Plan, he couny’s medical proessionals are rained
o deec hese diseases in order o hal risk o an epidemic.106 However, Miami-
Dade’s linguisically and culurally diverse populaion may complicae effors o
communicae and preven disease risks as he hrea o public healh rises.
Addiionally, Florida’s high-uninsured rae has he poenial o exacerbae he
negaive healh impac o higher emperaures. Low- and middle-income residens
wihou healh insurance are unlikely o seek medical atenion in an emer-
gency due o he high cos o care. However, he naional implemenaion o he
Affordable Care Ac, or ACA, is helping ensure ha more Floridians have healh
insurance. In 2015, more han 1.3 million Floridians were enrolled or ederal
coverage under he ACA, and he heavily Hispanic and low-income Miami-Dade
municipaliy o Hialeah led he naion in ACA enrollmen.107 Ye, 33 percen o
Miami-Dade Couny residens are sill wihou healh insurance. Florida is one
o 19 saes ha have no acceped ederal unds o help expand Medicaid. Tissignificanly undermines he overall healh and climae preparedness o he sae,
as Medicaid expansion would help 567,000 uninsured low-income Floridians gain
healh insurance, many in Miami-Dade Couny.108
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In ligh o he public healh risks exacerbaed by climae change, Miami-Dade leaders
will need o educae and prepare medical proessionals and residens on how o pro-
ec communiies rom higher raes o illness linked o rising emperaures. Leaders
can also help miigae hese risks by promoing smar ransporaion planning and
expanding mass ransi o cu vehicle-relaed air polluion wihin he couny.
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Resilience plans
without accountability
As climae change acceleraes, Miami-Dade communiies are increasingly recog-
nizing he need o srenghen heir resilience o sea level rise and more exreme
weaher risks. Te couny’s “GreenPrin: Our Plan or a Susainable Fuure,”
released in 2010, oulines a plan or he couny o boh miigae and adap o
climae change.109 Te plan includes a couny pledge o cu greenhouse gas
emissions o 80 percen o 2008 levels by 2050 and 137 recommended iniia-
ives o build a more susainable and resilien couny. Among he recommen-
daions is implemenaion o he Souheas Florida Regional Climae ChangeCompaca regional climae acion commimen or Miami-Dade, Broward,
Palm Beach and Monroe Counies known as he 4-Couny Compac.110 Te
GreenPrin also includes proposals o improve waer and energy efficiency,
preserve coasal ecosysems, and increase public ransporaion use.
In 2013, he couny released is firs “GreenPrin Progress Repor.”111 While he
progress repor indicaes ha he couny has compleed or is aking acion on
110 GreenPrin iniiaives, in realiy progress has been slow and no widespread.
For example, he GreenPrin encourages all Miami-Dade municipaliies o pledge
o implemen he plan, ye only 5 o he couny’s 36 municipaliies had done so
according o he progress repor.112
As emperaures and flood risks across he couny coninue o rise, poliical
and culural challenges have salled acion o creae a susainable and resilien
Miami-Dade Couny. Afer he Miami-Dade leaders who creaed he GreenPrin
lef office, he plan’s recommendaions became a lower prioriy. James Murley
describes he GreenPrin as a guiding documen or he couny.113
Murley poins o he Miami-Dade Couny Sea Level Rise ask Force, sormwaersysem upgrades, and he Everglades rehabiliaion projec as signs o progress
oward a more climae-resilien couny.114 However, he couny has no maser plan
o rack he impacs o hese effors or o communicae progress o he public.
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Kamalah Flecher believes ha progress hrough he couny’s resilience iniiaives,
including hose in he GreenPrin, is possible, bu ha couny and local officials
need o make plan implemenaion a higher prioriy.115 “Wih over 200 recom-
mendaions rom various regional iniiaives, here should be more happening,”
Flecher said. “Bu here is no enough accounabiliy.”116 She said ha resilience
has no ye become an insiuionalized concep wihin he Miami-Dade govern-men and ha he curren saus o resilience planning “creaes a vague under-
sanding o he hreas, wha’s being done, and how i applies o daily lie.”117
Afer he appoinmen o James Murley as he couny ’s firs chie resilience
officer, a he urging o communiy advocaes, he couny began updaing he
GreenPrin in early 2016.118 Communiy advocacy or acion on climae change
has been key o couny progress.
An empowered community is a resilient community
Among hose working in Miami-Dade o address climae change, here is universal
agreemen ha he couny needs o do wha i can, and as, o build resilience o
mouning sea level rise and exreme weaher hreas. Communiy advocaes are
working o fill climae preparedness gaps lef by lackluser couny effors by raising
public awareness o climae change hreas and supporing dialogue beween com-
muniy members and couny policymakers abou sraegies.
In Sepember 2015, climae advocaes made local headlines a he mayor’s bud-
ge hearing when hey called on couny officials o make climae change a op
prioriy.119 Tey highlighed ha no one iem in he new budge unds resil-
ience measures.120 In response o heir demands, he couny moved o appoin a
chie resilience officerMurleyand a $300,000 budge or engineering more
resilien couny inrasrucure.121
Afer he hearing, Miami-Dade Couny Mayor Carlos Gimenez called or local
universiies o make soluions o sea level rise a op research prioriy. He was
quoed in he Miami Herald as saying, “We don’ have a soluion, ... So even i I
have a billion dollars righ now, we wouldn’ know wha o spend i on. Becausehere is no soluion righ now.”122
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Communiy leaders see his atenion o sea level rise rom he Couny Mayor’s
Office as a sep in he righ direcion, bu hey coninue o press or couny leader-
ship o be accounable o is exising plans, including he recommendaions and
acion ramework o he GreenPrin, he 4-Couny Compac, and he couny’s Sea
Level Rise ask Force.123
In Ocober 2015, he budding movemen o communiy members and leaders
organized he larges local march o dae o rally or climae acion. An esimaed
2,000 communiy members showed up o he Couny Governmen Cener o
demand more progress in Miami-Dade on climae miigaion and resilience.124
In ligh o he high risks o climae change o he couny, advocaes hope o expand
public engagemen and accelerae momenum or more change. As Caroline
Lewis o he CLEO Insiue sees i, “Business and grassroos coaliions are being
buil o advocae or he implemenaion o climae resilience plans, bu large-scale
change remains difficul. Funding or communiy educaion and engagemenmigh give eleced leaders he suppor hey need o ac.”125
Lack of public awareness creates space for a state of denial
As 60 percen o Miami-Dade residens live wih financial insabiliy, heir near-
erm needs ofen ake precedence over addressing longer-ermye poenially
devasaingclimae change hreas. Te majoriy o Miami-Dade residens
remain uninormed abou he hreas ha climae change poses o heir healh,
communiies and livelihoods.126 Tis lack o awareness and absence o a srong
public oucry or acion has creaed space or eleced officials o ignore he urgen
need or climae change soluions and o ocus on oher maters.127 Tis dynamic
is no unique o Miami-Dade Couny.
Climae denial by sae leaders minimizes pressure on local officials o address
climae change. For example, couner o decades o scienific evidence and
research in Florida, Gov. Rick Scot denies ha climae change is a hrea.128
In 2015, sae employees widely alleged ha Gov. Scot’s adminisraion had
banned hem rom using he words “climae change” and “global warming”in he workplace and in repors.129 While “sea level rise” was never aken ou
o he governmen lexicon, according o he Florida Cener or Invesigaive
Reporing, governmen repors avoid menion o he cause, which no only
keeps he public in he dark bu undermines he abiliy o governmen officials
and business leaders o develop and pursue soluions.130
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Policy recommendations
Te coss and consequences o unchecked climae change in Miami-Dade are
simply oo high o ignore, paricularly in low-income areas. o build a more
resilien and equiable Miami-Dade, couny residens and ciy and couny offi-
cials mus ake he ollowing seps.
Prioritize climate change resilience and mitigation
Miami-Dade officials need o make climae change resilience and miigaion a op
prioriy, paricularly given growing flood and exreme weaher risks o residens
and he economy. By implemening exising Couny recommendaions rom he
GreenPrin, he Sea Level Rise ask Force, and he our-couny Souheas Florida
Regional Climae Compac, among ohers, Miami-Dade and is municipaliies can
make serious gains. Many o he sanding recommendaions, such as improving
public ransporaion opions; upgrading energy efficiency; and increasing access o
renewable energy in he Couny, have dual climae miigaion and resilience benefis.
Te ederal governmen can suppor couny climae acion by ensuring ha ed-
eral grans and oher programs suppor low-carbon and climae-resilien inra-
srucure, ecosysems, and communiy developmen.
Addiionally, he Miami-Dade Mayor’s Office and Board o Commissioners
should suppor effors o make resilience an inerdisciplinary pracice involving
planners and policymakers rom all couny offices, and embed climae change risk
managemen sraegies ino couny planning and policies. Resilience should also
be made a prioriy in couny and municipal governmen engagemen wih he
business communiy. Couny leaders should go a sep beyond he curren resolu-ion ha requires all inrasrucure projecs o consider sea level rise and sorm
surge by requiring ha all couny programs and decisionmaking ake ino accoun
he hrea o climae change.
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Improve public knowledge of climate change risks
Couny officials and communiy advocacy groups mus improve awareness
among residens o heir climae change risks. According o Caroline Lewis,
people are eager o ake acion and build resilien communiies once hey learn
how climae change affecs daily lie.138
Te more Miami-Dade residens knowabou climae change risks, he more hey will be empowered o make personal
changes and demand acion rom couny and municipal leaders. Te couny
should make ranslaing educaion and oureach maerials or low English profi-
ciency communiies a high prioriy.
Te ederal governmen can help by improving access o up-o-dae science and
oher inormaion on local climae change risks.
Create a public climate change forum
Te couny mayor should creae an official orum or public engagemen on climae
change o ensure ha he diverse needs o Miami-Dade residens are considered
in climae resilience and miigaion planning effors. Climae change hreaens all
Miami-Dade residens, and hey deserve an opporuniy o voice heir concerns
and ideas or srenghening equiable resilience o couny officials. Tis orum
could ollow he orma o couny budge hearings, which are open o all residens,
or a special roundable could be creaed o governmen officials in parnership wih
leaders appoined rom he couny’s diverse communiies and advocacy groups.
Map social and climate vulnerability
Couny policymakers canno change wha is no measured. o reduce vulnerabil-
iy and increase resilience across low-income communiies, Miami-Dade should
use is cross-deparmenal daa and collaborae wih local research insiuions o
creae a social and climae vulnerabiliy index. Te index could help climae resil-
ience planners and emergency response managers arge soluions and ormulae
budges o address hreas including sorm surge, sea level rise, and hea islands.Tese daa would also help emergency preparedness planners undersand where
and how o ocus resources. Once climae and economically vulnerable com-
muniies are idenified, couny and local governmen leaders should seek o
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build rus wih leaders wihin hese areas. Tese leaders could help aciliae a
dialogue o increase communiy undersanding o climae change hreas and
resilience sraegies, ideniy unique needs wihin low-income areas, srenghen
exising vulnerabiliy mapping, and coordinae preparedness effors.
Strengthen social cohesion
Low-income communiies are ofen bes suppored by heir own communiy
neworks during emergencies. One such example is Peacemakers Family Service
Cener, which was sared by communiy leaders a Miami Garden’s riniy
Church.139 Peacemakers works wih he Miami-Dade Office o Emergency
Managemen o help he communiy a large undersand poenial exreme
weaher hreas and suppor acions o prepare.140 One o heir programs is he
Adop-A-Senior iniiaive, which helps senior residens prepare or and cope wih
he poenial impacs o hurricane season.141 Peacemakers also organizes is own voluneer-lead Cerified Emergency Response eam o help provide emergency
managemen raining o communiy leaders, including a recen group o 30
chaplains rom he Miami area.142 Tese effors build on exising social neworks,
and will help ensure ha riniy Church’s membership and he wider communiy
know wha o do in he even o caasrophe.143 Te Miami-Dade governmen
can launch similar iniiaives wih oher aih, language, and communiy groups
hroughou he couny o help people prepare or climae change impacs; know
where o ge help and resources; and build climae resilien communiies.
Leverage community organization strengths
Communiy organizaions can leverage exising relaionships, rus, and local
knowledge o quickly ideniy low-income communiy vulnerabiliies and com-
municae wih residens. During pas exreme weaher evens in oher U.S. urban
areas, hese organizaions have responded quickly o suppor communiy mem-
bers, preven people rom being displaced rom heir homes, and complemen and
fill oher gaps in governmen recovery and resilience effors.144 Moreover, some
povery-ocused communiy organizaions, like Caalys Miami, view climaeresilience as an opporuniy o build economically resilien and vibran communi-
ies in Miami-Dade rom he ground up.145 Recognizing and supporing he role
ha communiy organizaions play in meeing he couny’s resilience goals will
enhance inclusion and equiy. Couny and municipal governmens should help
srenghen he abiliy o hese organizaions o assis heir communiies beore
and afer exreme weaher evens hrough grans, raining, and collaboraion.
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Plan for storm displacement before it happens
o minimize people’s displacemen, governmen resilience plans should be devel-
oped beore exreme weaher srikes, no afer. While exreme weaher prepared-
ness and evacuaion planning is oued as a prioriy in Florida and Miami-Dade
Couny, he experiences o oher U.S. urban areas including New York Ciy andNew Orleans poin o he need or beter planning everywhere. During Hurricanes
Sandy and Karina, governmen leaders were developing rebuilding and ani-
displacemen programs as he crises unolded, leading o hardships, conusion,
unnecessary red ape and negaive press.146 Some residens are sill displaced.147
Miami-Dade Couny should consider emergency preparedness and displacemen
prevenion programs similar o hose adoped by New York and New Jersey afer
Sandywhich were among he firs in he naion o incorporae climae change
daaand learn rom and improve upon heir misseps.148
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Conclusion
Tere are ew places in he Unied Saes ha are more vulnerable o climae
change han Miami-Dade Couny. Meeing he challenges o sea level rise and
more exreme hea and sorms may seem dauning, bu couny leaders have many
ools a heir disposal o make Miami-Dade a global model or climae change
resilience. Evidence in he orm o flooding, hea waves, and heavy rainall
ogeher wih volumes o scienific research on climae change risksmake clear
ha Miami-Dade mus immediaely move beyond promise o acion.
Couny leaders and residens mus build he poliical willpower o srenghen,
und, and implemen he couny’s exising resilience plans. Te couny mus
work wih he business communiy o srenghen heir commimens o climae
resilience o help saeguard jobs and wages. Couny officials also should work
more closely wih communiy advocaes o expand and srenghen public ou-
reach o improve undersanding o climae change risks and resilience, as well as
he miigaion sraegies ha can save lives. In order o hrive in he 21s cenury,
couny leaders mus accelerae effors o build a climae resilien, low-carbon and
equiable Miami-Dade communiy.
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About the authors
Cathleen Kelly is a Senior Fellow a American Progress. She specializes in inerna-
ional and U.S. climae miigaion, preparedness, resilience, and susainable devel-
opmen policy. Kelly served in he Obama adminisraion a he Whie House
Council on Environmenal Qualiy, where she led a 20-plus-agency ask orce odevelop a naional climae-resilience sraegy.
Kelly is an inernaionally recognized climae policy exper and a regular adviser
o U.S. and European officials on environmenal policy issues. She is a proessor o
inernaional and environmenal policy a he Johns Hopkins Universiy Paul H.
Nize School o Advanced Inernaional Sudies, or SAIS. Kelly is a prize-winning
graduae o SAIS, where she earned a maser o ars in inernaional relaions and
energy and environmenal policy.
Miranda Peterson is a Research Assisan or he Energy Policy eam a he Cener.She works on Norh American climae sraegy and clean air issues, including
responsible resource developmen and resilience policy. Prior o joining he
Cener, Peerson worked in he U.S. Deparmen o Homeland Securiy’s Office o
Inrasrucure Proecion, where she assised wih erroris and exreme weaher
preparedness. Peerson received her bachelor’s degree in inernaional sudies and
environmenal affairs rom Virginia ech.
Madeleine Boel is a ormer Energy Policy eam inern a he Cener. She is cur-
renly a suden a he College o William & Mary.
Acknowledgments
Te auhors would like o hank he ollowing organizaions and individuals or
heir conribuions: Kamalah Flecher and Carla Moreira Srickland a Caalys
Miami; Caroline Lewis a Te CLEO Insiue; James Murley a Miami-Dade
Couny; and Danielle Baussan, Vicoria Ford, Emily Haynes, Cheser Hawkins,
Tomas Huelskoeter, Meghan Miller and racey Ross all a he Cener or
American Progress.
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Endnotes
1 Miami-Dade County, “About Miami-Dade County:History,” available at http://www.miamidade.gov/info/about_miami-dade_history.asp (last accessed January2016).
2 U.S. Census Bureau, “Annual Estimates of the ResidentPopulation: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014,” availableat http://www.census.gov/popest/data/counties/to-tals/2014/CO-EST2014-01.html (last accessed January2016).
3 Southeast Florida Regional Climate Compact, “UnifiedSea level Rise Projection: Southeast Florida” (2015)available at http://www.southeastfloridaclimatecom-pact.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/2015-Compact-Unified-Sea-Level-Rise-Projection.pdf .
4 Coral Davenport, “Miami Finds Itself Ankle-Deep in Cli-mate Change Debate,” The New York Times, May 7, 2014,available at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/08/us/florida-finds-itself-in-the-eye-of-the-storm-on-climate-change.html?_r=0.
5 National Climate Assessment, “Climate Change Impactsin the United States: The Third National Climate Assess-ment: Southeast” (2014), available at http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/regions/southeast.
6 U.S. Census Bureau, “State & County QuickFacts: FloridaCounty Selection Map,” available at http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/florida_map.html (last accessedDecember 2015).
7 Florida Legislature Office of Economic & DemographicResearch, “Projections of Florida Population by County,2015-2040, with Estimates for 2014,” available at http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/population-demographics/data/(last accessed December 2015).
8 Ibid.
9 Gov. Rick Scott, “Gov. Rick Scott: GDP in Twelve FloridaMetro Areas Grew Faster Than Nation in 2014,” Pressrelease, September 30, 2015, available at http://www.flgov.com/2015/09/30/gov-rick-scott-gdp-in-twelve-
florida-metro-areas-grew-faster-than-nation-in-2014/.
10 Family Assets Count, “Financial Insecurity in Miami-Dade County: A Data Snapshot” (2014) available athttp://familyassetscount.org/pdf/Miami-Dade%20County%20FAC%20Snapshot.pdf ; Douglas Hanks andNicholas Nehamas, “In Miami-Dade, almost a third ofpre-schoolers live in poverty,” Miami Herald , July 29,2015, available at http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article29502721.html.
11 U.S. Census Bureau, “State & County QuickFacts: Miami-Dade County, Florida” available at http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12086.html (last accessedDecember 2015).
12 Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory andEconomic Resources, “At-A-Glance” (2014) available athttp://www.miamidade.gov/planning/library/reports/
at-a-glance/2014-wages.pdf .
13 Cathleen Kelly and Tracey Ross, “One Storm Shy ofDespair” (Washington: Center for American Progress,2014), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/report/2014/07/17/93981/one-storm-shy-of-despair/; Island Press and the Kresge Foundation,“Bounce Forward: Urban Resilience in the Era of ClimateChange” (2015), available at http://kresge.org/sites/default/files/Bounce-Forward-Urban-Resilience-in-Era-of-Climate-Change-2015.pdf .
14 Danielle Baussan and Miranda Peterson, “Lessonsfrom the Storm” (Center for American Progress, 2015)available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/report/2015/10/28/124339/lessons-from-the-storm/.
15 Deborah S. K. Thomas and others, Social Vulnerability toDisasters: Second Edition (Boca R aton: Taylor & FrancisGroup, 2013), available at https://books.google.com/books?id=WFTOBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA101&lpg=PA10-1&dq=miami+storm+poverty&source=bl&ots=i9DgZWRUp_&sig=-ZvYc-eBY9tUZJLZFXo5DXzSsvE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjhpJjun9LJAhWI4iYKHQK_APUQ6AEIVDAJ#v=onepage&q=miami%20storm%20poverty&f=false.
16 National Centers for Environmental Information,“Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters: Table ofEvents,” available at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events (last accessed January 2016) ; National ClimaticData Center, “Hurricane Andrew,” available at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/satellite/satelliteseye/hur-ricanes/andrew92/andrew.html(last accessed January2016).
17 Greg Hanscom, “The not-quite-perfect storm: Miamidodged the bullet last, but can its luck hold out?” Grist ,December 20, 2013, available at http://grist.org/cities/the-not-quite-perfect-storm-miami-dodged-the-bullet-last-time-but-can-its-luck-hold-out/.
18 Thomas and others, Social Vulnerability to Disasters:Second Edition.
19 Ibid.
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 Family Assets Count, “Financial Insecurity in Miami-Dade County: A Data Snapshot.”
25 Risky Business Project, “Come Heat and High Water:Climate Risks in the Southeastern U.S. and Texas”(2015), available at http://riskybusiness.org/site/assets/uploads/2015/09/Climate-Risk-in-Southeast-and-Texas.pdf.
26 Ibid.
27 Ibid.
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28 Center for American Progress | Miami-Dade in Hot Water
28 Data was reported as at least one overnight stay;Hannah Sampson, “2014 tourist tally: 14.5 million inMiami-Dade,” Miami Herald, February 26, 2015, availableat http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/ar-ticle11258168.html.
29 Joey Flechas and Walter Michot, “Tides case floodingin Miami Beach again Friday morning,” Miami Herald,October 9, 2015, available at http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article38329890.html; Laura Bliss, “Don’t MournMiami Just Yet,” CityLab, November 13, 2015, available
at http://www.citylab.com/politics/2015/11/dont-mourn-miami-just-yet/415044/; Gaby Fleischman,“Miami Beach Residents Say They’re Tired of ContinuedHigh Tide Flooding,” CBS Miami, October 9, 2015, avail-able at http://miami.cbslocal.com/2015/10/09/miami-beach-residents-say-theyre-tired-of-continued-high-tide-flooding/; Joey Flechas and Jenny Staletovich,“Miami Beach’s battle to stem rising tides,” MiamiHerald, October 23, 2015, available at http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article41141856.html.
30 Erika Spanger-Siegfried, Melanie Fitzpatrick, andKristina Dahl, “Encroaching Tides: How Sea Level R iseand Tidal Flooding Threaten U.S. East and Gulf CoastCommunities over the Next 30 Years” (Cambridge,MA: Union of Concerned Scientists, 2014), availableat http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/at-tach/2014/10/encroaching-tides-full-report.pdf .
31 PortMiami, “By the Numbers,” available at http://www.mi-amidade.gov/portmiami/ (last accessed January 2016).
32 Ibid.
33 PortMiami, “2035 Master Plan” (2011), available athttps://www.miamidade.gov/portmiami/library/2035-master-plan/preferred-plan-sec-7.pdf .
34 Ibid.
35 Florida Legislature Office of Economic and Demograph-ic Research, “Miami-Dade County,” available at http://edr.state.fl.us/content/area-profiles/county/miamidade.pdf (last accessed December 2015).
36 Ibid.
37 David Adams and Zachary Fagenson, “Traffic gridlockin Miami spurs search for transit solutions” Reuters,November 12, 2015, available at http://www.busines-sinsider.com/r-traffic-gridlock-in-miami-spurs-search-for-transit-solutions-2015-11; American Society to CivilEngineers 2013 Report Card for American Infrastruc-ture, “State Facts: Florida,” available at http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/a/#p/state-facts/florida (last accessed January 2016).
38 Joseph D. Hughes and Jeremy T. White, “HydrologicConditions in Urban Miami-Dade County, Florida, andthe Effect of Groundwater Pumpage and IncreasedSea Level on Canal Leakage and Regional Groundwa-ter Flow,” (Reston, VA: U.S. Geological Survey, 2014),available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2014/5162/pdf/sir2014-5162.pdf.
39 Florida International University, “Climate Change, Wild-
life and Wildlands: Case Study—Everglades and SouthFlorida,” available at http://everglades.fiu.edu/Everpres/FI07011001.pdf (last accessed January 2016).
40 The Florida Oceans and Coastal Council, “ClimateChange and Sea Level Rise in Florida: An Update on theEffects of Climate Change on Florida’s Ocean & CoastalResources” (2010), available at http://www.dep.state.fl.us/oceanscouncil/reports/climate_change_and_sea_level_rise.pdf .
41 World Resources Institute, “Sea-Level Rise and Its Im-pact on Miami-Dade County,” available at http://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/sealevelrise_miami_florida_factsheet_final.pdf (last accessed December 2015).
42 World Wildlife Fund, “Everglades,” available at http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/nt0904 (last ac-cessed December 2015).
43 Florida International University, “Climate Change,Wildlife and Wildlands.”
44 Daniel C. Donato and others, “Mangroves amongthe most carbon-rich forests in the tropics,” NatureGeoscience, April 3, 2011, available at http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v4/n5/full/ngeo1123.html?words=Breivik .
45 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “WetlandsProtection and Restoration,” available at http://www2.epa.gov/wetlands (last accessed December 2015).
46 EvergladesRestoration.gov, “South Florida EcosystemRestoration Task Force,” available at http://www.ever-gladesrestoration.gov/content/tf.html (last accessedDecember 2015).
47 Florida Oceans and Coastal Council, “Climate Changeand Sea-Level Rise in Florida”; Highwaterline, “Buildinga Resilient Miami,” available at http://highwaterline.org/building-a-resilient-miami/ (last accessed Decem-ber 2015).
48 Kristan Uhlenbrock, “Rising Seas and Leadershipas Senate Commerce Heads to Miami,” Centerfor American Progress, May 1, 2014, available athttps://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2014/05/01/88881/rising-seas-and-leadership-as-senate-commerce-heads-to-miami/.
49 MWH Global, “Preliminary Assessment of a HydrostaticSalinity Barrier for Wellfield Protection” (2013), availableat http://hallandalebeachfl.gov/files/2014-01-08/Item%2010D/SUPP_DOCS/Documents/Doc2.pdf.
50 American Society of Civil Engineers, “2012 Report Card
for Florida’s Infrastructure: C-” (Reston, VA: AmericanSociety of Civil Engineers, 2013), available at http://www.fla-asce.org/Documents/2012-Florida-Section-Report-Card-Brochure.pdf .
51 South Florida PBS, “Issues Report: Money Down theDrain?,” April 4, 2014, available at http://video.wpbt2.org/video/2365235923/.
52 U.S. Department of Justice, “Notice of Lodging ofProposed Consent Decree Under The Clean Water Act,”Federal Register 78 (113) (2013): 35315–35316, availableat https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-06-12/html/2013-13913.htm.
53 Patricia Mazzei, “Federal judge hears arguments on $1.6billion Miami-Dade sewer-repairs agreement,” MiamiHerald, February 10, 2014, available at http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/
article1960201.html.
54 Kerri L. Barsh, “‘Policy-Setting’ Florida ResolutionRequires County Infrastructure Projects to ConsiderPotential Impacts of Sea Level Rise and Storm SurgeDuring All Project Phases,”National Law Review, May8, 2014, available at http://www.natlawreview.com/article/policy-setting-florida-resolution-requires-coun-ty-infrastructure-projects-to-conside.
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8/20/2019 Miami-Dade in Hot Water:Why Building Equitable Climate Resilience is Key to Public Health and Economic Stability…
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29 Center for American Progress | Miami-Dade in Hot Water
55 Ibid.
56 Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department, “CapitalImprovement Program,” available at http://www.miami-dade.gov/water/library/flyers/capital-improvement-plan.pdf (last accessed January 2016); Miami-DadeWater and Sewer D epartment, “Adopted FY 2015–2021Capital Budget and Multi-Year Capital Plan” (2015)available at http://www.miamidade.gov/water/library/reports/capital-budget-2015-2021.pdf.
57 Invest Miami, “Miami-Dade County Department of Water
and Sewer Director Lester Sola Discusses the Depart-ment’s Strategies to Accommodate the County’s ExplosiveGrowth,” available at http://investmiami2015.com/miami-dade-county-department-water-sewer-director-lester-sola-discusses-departments-strategies-accommodate-countys-explosive-growth/ (last accessed January 2016).
58 Ibid.; Personal communication with James Murley, Miami-Dade County chief resilience officer, January 14, 2016.
59 The New York Times, “What Climate Change Looks Like:Miami’s $300 Million Pump,” December 10, 2015, avail-able at http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/climate/2015-paris-climate-talks/what-climate-change-looks-like-miami-pumps.
60 Walter Michot, “Miami Beach streets stay dry duringking tide peak,” Miami Herald, October 9, 2014, availableat http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/commu-
nity/miami-dade/miami-beach/article2633647.html.
61 Jenny Staletovich, “Climate fix for rising seas could foulMiami’s Biscayne Bay,” Miami Herald, January 30, 2015,available at http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article8830133.html.
62 Danielle Paquette, “Miami’s climate catch-22: Buildingwaterfront condos to pay for protection against therising sea,” The Washington Post, December 22, 2014,available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2014/12/22/miamis-climate-catch-22-building-luxury-condos-to-pay-for-protection-against-the-rising-sea/.
63 Hurricane Research Division, “Frequently Asked Ques-tions,” available at http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G11.html (last accessed December 2015).
64 Sarah Cascone, “Parties Rage on as Tropical RainstormSwamps Art Basel in Miami Beach,” ArtNetNews,December 4, 2015, available at https://news.artnet.com/art-world/miami-rainstorm-cant-stop-art-basel-crowd-385313.
65 Seven50, “Empower the Region’s Arts Leadership to Imple-ment the Arts Objectives of the Seven50 Plan,” availableat http://seven50report.org/celebrating-arts-culture/empower-regions-arts-leadership-implement-arts-objec-tive-seven50-plan (last accessed December 2015).
66 The Weather Chan
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