Miami-Dade in Hot Water:Why Building Equitable Climate Resilience is Key to Public Health and Economic Stability in South Florida

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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24/35


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


26/35


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.


27/35


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.


29/35


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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31/35


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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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