Climate gentrification in Miami: A real climate change-minded investment practice?

Abstract

Climate gentrification has become a powerful concept to explore how climate change governance and peoples' awareness of sea-level rise will produce new housing geographies and urban inequalities. Departing from climate justice and gentrification critiques, we contribute to the conceptual advancement of climate gentrification from a geographical perspective through an examination of whether its occurrence in Miami is a real climate change-minded investment practice. We find homebuyers' awareness of sea-level rise is not the major factor compelling homebuyers to higher ground. Presently, climate gentrification in Miami is more reflective of a rational economic investment motivation in response to expensive flood insurance rather than sea-level rise itself. Homebuyers are more steered by flood insurance required by FEMA and the historical record of flooding, rather than elevation and scientific projections of storm surges. Moreover, unlike other global cities, wealthy and well-educated homebuyers show fewer concerns about rising sea levels and climate change in Miami. Our findings reveal that climate gentrification is being utilized by some developers and is both interpreted and misinterpreted by local policymakers to facilitate neoliberal urban redevelopment and place marketing. At the same time, the real estate industry is failing buyers in terms of providing accurate climate and sea-level rise information. To help remedy this knowledge gap, we call for two policy instruments to increase investors' awareness of sea-level rise: 1) include risk assessment of sea-level rise in homebuyer contracts, and 2) improve FEMA insurance maps to incorporate sea-level rise scenarios.