The loss of affordable South Beach apartments is a setback for Miami Beach's sustainability

In 2013 I wrote a post Miami Beach bikes (and walks) to work about why affordable housing matters for sustainability on Miami Beach.Not many people know that Miami Beach is one of the top cities in the country in the percentage of residents who get to work by walking or biking. Service industry workers are to thank for the city's high ranking on this measure - roughly half walk or bike to their jobs in hotels and restaurants. And the fact that so many are able to get to work without driving is a huge benefit to the city in terms of reduced traffic and pollution. 

But this is only possible because there is still enough housing, even in South Beach, that’s at least somewhat affordable for hotel and restaurant workers. Until recently it was still possible to get a studio or 1-bedroom for around $1,000 a month. That’s still a high rent for someone making minimum wage, but the census data shows that some are able to make it work. Perhaps that’s because paying more to live in South Beach saves a 2-3 hour commute by bus from less expensive neighborhoods, or the expense and hassle of a car.  

But last week the Miami Herald reported that 15 of these buildings were sold to a developer who plans to renovate them and increase rents by 35%-50%, effectively displacing probably hundreds of working class residents. 

White paper: A Social Vulnerability Perspective on Climate Change Adaptation in Miami-Dade

The purpose of this white paper is to provide an overview of the ways in which South Florida communities are vulnerable to climate change, and to suggest strategies for adaptation that increase resilience of vulnerable communities. This paper is grounded in a human security perspective of vulnerability, in contrast to other perspectives that focus on the natural or built environment. I argue that focusing on the human dimensions of vulnerability can accomplish climate change adaptation and mitigation goals while providing co-benefits that improve opportunity and quality of life in the present, resulting in greater resilience than strategies that do not take social vulnerability into account. The paper provides locally specific information that will help to guide research, curriculum development, and community engagement activities around climate change impacts and resilience.

Download the pdf of the white paper here.

Part 2: Miami Beach bikes (and walks) to work

In a previous post I highlighted Census data released last fall which shows that Miami Beach is the 10^th city in the nation for biking to work. Approximately 7% of workers regularly use a bicycle for the longest part of their commute. That’s about 3,000 people in our city biking regularly to work, and I was curious – who are they? 

With Miami’s bike scene growing like crazy lately-- thousands showing up for Critical Mass, new bike facilities in the works for Downtown, etc.-- it would be easy to assume that these bicyclists-to-work are bicycle activists, young urban professionals, or the like. But the data indicate something else. 

On Miami Beach those most likely to bike to work are service industry workers with median annual earnings of about $21,000 per year, well below the citywide average of $32,597. Here are the top 10 industries:

Miami Beach 10th city in the nation for biking to work

The annual flooding in October and November that Miami Beach experiences due to high tides was by many accounts some of the worst ever this year. Alton Road, 6th Street, Indian Creek, and other low-lying areas experienced flooded streets and sidewalks twice a day for several weeks. It was so noticeable that local activists decided to hold a press conference on a flooded sidewalk along Alton Road to call for the presidential candidates to address climate change in their last debate.

This struck me as ironic. Miami Beach, due to it's historic urban design of compact development and walkable streets, is one of the most pedestrian and bike friendly cities in the southeast. In fact it is the 10th city in the nation for biking to work, according to the latest U.S. Census data. Approximately 6.3% of workers regularly use a bicycle for the longest part of their commute. Half the cities in the top 10 list are in California, with Davis topping the list with 16.6% bike share of commuters. You can see the full list and some other stats at Governing By The Numbers here.

Being able to bike to stores, hang-out spots, and friends' homes is one of the main reasons I live on Miami Beach. I get exercise, save money, and reduce my carbon footprint. And the City has new sustainability initiatives like the mandatory recycling for rental and condominium buildings, and the popular Decobike program.

So while Miami Beach is arguably in some ways a model for how our cities can work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the fact that climate change is a global problem means that our city's progress does little to reduce our risk if others don't act as well. Other low-lying coastal areas are in the same boat. The Maldives, for example, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean with a land area not quite twice the size of Washington D.C., and a maximum elevation of 2.4 meters. The Maldives have contributed little to climate change--the country ranks 167th in the world for greenhouse gas emissions, about an 8th of U.S. emissions per capita -- yet the islands are risk of disappearing under the ocean due to rising sea level. The Maldives have called on international forums to take action on climate change, even holding a cabinet meeting under water in scuba gear, but to little avail.

Whether rising seas, heat waves, storms, or changes to our food supply, climate change will impact different areas of the world differently, but in some sense we are also all in the same boat. Tackling these problems will mean recognizing our responsibility not just to the environment but to each other.