The Florida Keys sit at the frontlines of the climate crisis, where porous limestone meets rising seas. Plans to elevate the height of the roads and save homes won’t save everyone. Near Miami, last week’s tragic building collapse has some wondering whether climate change played a role? There, too, buildings sit on sinking limestone amidst rising seas. About a decade ago, gentrification also changed the Keys landscape, and now, like Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood, climate gentrification has as well.
Cities Leading on Climate Face Gentrification and Equity Challenges
Almost at its adoption, the Paris Agreement has been criticized for failing to go far enough in ambitious commitments. Now it seems clear many countries are not on track to meet even the modest targets set in 2015. Combined with the damaging withdrawal of the US, and the message it sent about national populism over international cooperation, there are lingering concerns about global climate cooperation.
One bright spot has been the willingness of cities across the globe, including in otherwise hesitant countries, to take the lead on climate action and various related issues such as migration. In a way, this is not surprising. Many regions in the world are facing increased numbers of both internally and internationally displaced people due to a variety of drivers. Evaluating 10 years of internal displacement data from 2009 to 2019, UNHCR noted that 2 out of 3 internally displaced persons they encountered were in urban or semi-urban areas.