This work was made possible through the support of the Climate Emergency Collaboration Group, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
Introduction
As the US attempts to position itself as a climate leader at the international level, there remains a great deal of work to do, including much closer to home. It is no secret that climate change is ravaging communities across the US, from heightened risk of fast-spreading wildfires in California to economically-catastrophic sea-level rise in New York City, made worse by a failure to lower global emissions and adequately adapt to the increasing climate effects that put marginalized communities at greater risk.
Miami, Florida’s most populous metropolitan area, has long been considered particularly vulnerable to climate change, but this is often limited to considerations of sea-level rise given its position as a low-lying coastal city. Miami’s sea-levels are expected to be 10 to 17 inches (25-43 cm) above 2000 levels, though recent studies have shown the seas are rising faster than expected. While this is undoubtedly a major issue, Miami also faces extreme heat and tropical storms, including hurricanes. Just this year, Miami’s heat index struck new records when temperatures topped 100°F (37.8°C) for 37 consecutive days and 106°F (41.1°C) for 13 days. And while the city has always faced challenges of heat and storms to some extent, climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of these phenomena, with devastating results.
In addition to the economic costs associated with storms, floods, and heat waves, such as property damage and reduced agricultural productivity, climate events are exacerbating gentrification, displacement, and inequality, and poor health outcomes in Miami. In a story seen throughout the US as well as across the globe, Miami’s poorest and most marginalized communities are bearing the brunt of these climate impacts.
With this in mind, Climate Refugees traveled to Miami in August 2023 to visit Miami’s historically segregated, low-income, immigrant and marginalized communities like Little Haiti and Liberty City to speak to residents, communities and advocates working towards climate justice for all South Floridians.
We visited various locations in Little Haiti and Liberty City, and - in addition to talking with residents themselves - met with representatives of the following local organizations:
Miami Workers Center (MWC)
Subjects in the documentary film “Razing Liberty Square”
This report has two aims. First and foremost, we want to highlight and amplify the climate change-driven impacts being experienced by residents, especially those who are low-income and/or marginalized in some way, given how often such voices are excluded. Secondly, and strongly informed by these stories, we offer potential solutions and ways forward for policymakers and other key actors at various levels.
It is clear that significant and sustained investment across a variety of sectors is required to protect and build strong, inclusive, and climate-resilient communities, all while addressing past and current injustices. Key areas of support needed include (truly) affordable housing, protections for outdoor and other climate-vulnerable workers, expanded access to life-saving tools like air conditioning (A/C) and cooling centers, and education and initiatives on disaster preparedness.
The information presented in this report and even the way in which it is organized is primarily based on field visits and discussions with both local civil society organizations and impacted individuals, supported by other sources as appropriate. At Climate Refugees, we feel this locally-driven and informed approach is a prerequisite for climate action that is effective, appropriate, and just.
Map of a portion of Miami showing Little Haiti and ‘Liberty Square’, the public housing complex around which the Liberty City neighborhood developed. (Courtesy of Apple Maps)
Neighborhoods of Focus
Based on research as well as discussions with local organizations prior to our visit, we chose to focus on two neighborhoods: Little Haiti and Liberty City. These two areas, both within the City of Miami - and therefore Miami-Dade County - highlight the impacts of climate change on people of color, marginalized and vulnerable communities.
Liberty City
Miami is a city built on the backs of black laborers, who despite their immense contribution, were forced to live in segregation and poverty. This is part of the history of the City of Miami - one which includes a legacy of discriminatory zoning and housing policy that lingers to this day.
During America’s Jim Crow era, which lasted from the late 19th through the mid 20th century, Miami residents were segregated according to race. Most Black residents lived in what is now known as Overtown, then called the ‘Central Negro District’. Once also known as ‘colored town’, it is the second oldest neighborhood in Miami. By the 1930s, overcrowding in Overtown, which had little running water and had not yet been connected to the electrical grid, prompted politicians and community leaders to seek solutions, though not necessarily out of altruism. For example, one local leader was concerned that tuberculosis would spread into white households who employed Black domestic workers.
Aided by a shift in federal priorities after the election of President Franklin Roosevelt, in 1934 construction began on a massive public housing project called Liberty Square. Historians believe many of Overtown’s residents were pushed out to live in Liberty Square, which was then followed by a six-foot segregation wall that separated the South’s first Black public housing project from nearby white neighborhoods. Remnants of that segregation wall in Liberty Square exist to this day.
Redlining policies, denial of municipal services and housing loans were some of the methods utilized to keep Black residents segregated. Meanwhile razing of black neighborhoods like the Railroad Shop, construction of the I-95 freeway and the Scott-Carver Housing Projects were some of the many ways in which Black residents were forcibly displaced.
When Liberty Square opened in 1937, it attracted middle-class Black families who could afford rent which, despite being federally subsidized, was still higher than many surrounding areas. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, Liberty Square, around which other housing and institutions like churches developed, was “an ideal black community” according to one former resident and sociologist Marvin Dunn.
“Miami is a city built on the backs of black laborers, who despite their immense contribution, were forced to live in segregation and poverty. This is part of the history of the City of Miami - one which includes a legacy of discriminatory zoning and housing policy that lingers to this day. ”
As desegregation began in the 1960s, some Black households moved out of the area, causing a drain of economic and intellectual capital. Later on the neighborhood suffered during the crack epidemic and from absentee landlords who were happy to let the housing stock degrade. Following riots in the 1990s, the area saw a number of attempted revitalizations, with limited success.
Sections of Liberty Square public housing now shuttered as new construction across the street is underway
More recently, in 2015, Miami-Dade embarked on a major revitalization project of Liberty Square and Liberty City, committing $74 million in public funds. Dubbed ‘Liberty City Rising’, the project has been met with both praise and fears of gentrification and displacement.
One new development across the street where some residents have relocated
Some of the new construction is already showing signs of weather-related stress as climate-resilient building becomes a necessecity in Miami. For more on this see the documentary “Razing Liberty Square.”
“Little Haiti is known as the symbolic center of a vibrant immigrant community famed the world over for its art, music and culture”
Little Haiti
Little Haiti, with an elevation of about 10 feet above sea level is not only one of Miami’s highest points, but also one that experiences minimal flooding. Located in the northern part of the city, just east of Interstate 95, it is regarded as the “cultural heart” of Miami’s Haitian diaspora. Once called Lemon City, the area became the primary place where Haitian asylum-seekers, resettled refugees and immigrants settled upon their arrival in South Florida, which began in the 1970s.
Viter Juste, a pro-democracy activist who had been arrested in Haiti for political reasons, was one of the many who fled Haiti, coming to New York in the 60s before settling in Miami in 1973. Regarded as the ‘father of Little Haiti’, Juste apparently wrote to The Miami Herald to advocate for the establishment of ‘Little Port-au-Prince’ after the Haitian capital, but the newspaper’s editorial team decided to publish with ‘Little Haiti’ in the title instead.
When the Haitian Refugee Center won a major discrimination case that challenged US asylum policy, the neighborhood became a critical haven for the first Haitians arriving in South Florida who often did not receive a warm welcome from US authorities or existing communities, and who lacked adequate access to social services. Despite this, through hard work, refugees, asylum-seekers and immigrants established businesses and built a thriving community for themselves, though the strength and viability of the neighborhood is being challenged by various forces like poverty, upscale development projects seeking to make a profit, and neighborhood revitalization investment plans that are forcing gentrification, as our discussions with FANM revealed.
One such investment is the $1 billion redevelopment plan of Little Haiti known as the Magic City Innovation District that has already contributed to pricing many more residents out of their homes. A 2015 housing market analysis revealed that with the poverty rate higher than the average in Miami, only 26% of Little Haiti residents own their homes, with the vast majority renting. And with rents increasing as a result of redevelopment plans, many residents have been forced out of the very community they helped create. Recently The New York Times reported on substantial increases in Little Haiti property values since 2012, where the average home then valued at $58,403 now averages at $482,557 in April 2023. In the same article, developers of the Magic City Innovation District said, “developers did not consider Little Haiti because of its elevation, but rather, because of its proximity to Wynwood, Midtown and an expansion of the Miami Design District,” many of which are recently gentrified neighborhoods.
How Climate Change is Impacting Communities in Miami
In recognition that the impacts of climate change on Miami residents are varied, we have chosen to organize this brief thematically. There is of course overlap between the themes in many cases, as our visit and discussions with residents demonstrate.
Extreme heat and vulnerable/marginalized populations
It is not exactly novel to say that South Florida experiences high heat, but the situation is worsening, at least in part due to climate change. In a multi-city analysis, Miami was found to have 77 more days above 90°F (32°C) now than in 1970. For a city where high relative humidity is common, even that threshold temperature can easily produce a heat index - what it actually feels like for the human body - of 105°F (41°C). And this is before taking into account the urban heat island (UHI) effect, whereby urbanized areas experience higher temperatures than outlying areas due to the presence of infrastructure that absorbs and re-emits heat as compared to green space and bodies of water.
“While every urban resident in the Miami area experiences this phenomenon, which is only expected to worsen with climate change, marginalized groups are being disproportionately impacted by extreme heat.”
While every urban resident in the Miami area experiences this phenomenon, which is only expected to worsen with climate change, marginalized groups are being disproportionately impacted by extreme heat.
As the Miami-Dade County government has recognized, there is a considerable overlap between historically redlined areas of Miami and neighborhoods with hotter temperatures and older and less energy-efficient housing. This is of course no surprise. Areas graded ‘D’ or ‘hazardous’ by the government-sponsored Home Owners’ Loan Corporation in the 1930s tended to have mostly minority or poor white residents already dealing with “poor sanitation, industrial land uses, incinerators, railroads, and dumps.” The “systematic” disinvestment driven by these racist and discriminatory policies has made these communities more vulnerable to extreme heat today, such as through a lack of tree canopy, a phenomenon seen in cities across the US.
During our visits in Little Haiti and Liberty City, a notable lack of shade and roof cover were observed at bus stops, utilized by many residents, particularly senior citizens. Being younger and in relatively good health, we attempted to wait at an uncovered bus stop in Little Haiti one particular afternoon, where temperatures were well above 95°F (35°C) with high humidity, and lasted less than 10 minutes in the midday sun.
Rapidly gentrifying Little Haiti where older sections of the neighborhood lack tree cover and shade
While we did not take temperature readings during our visits, the lack of investment in environmental conditions that would reduce local temperatures - and make neighborhoods more pleasant for residents and visitors alike - was clear. There was a distinct lack of shade trees, and in some cases any street trees at all, along main thoroughfares in Little Haiti and Liberty City, both of which were redlined. This is in stark contrast to the streetscape in ‘revitalized’ parts of the city, such as the Design District, just minutes away from Little Haiti and home to luxury stores and thoughtfully landscaped, ‘walkable’ streets. One Little Haiti resident we interviewed confirmed that the heat in Miami today is worse than it used to be, a point made by several other residents we met. It is apparent that wealthy residents and visitors are first in line to receive aesthetically-pleasing, temperature-reducing infrastructure.
Just across the street in Little Haiti, a new food hall development has plenty of tree shade, though it is unclear whether the new businesses are affordable for locals.
Climate and Housing
Miami is seeing a construction boom. This is largely because the city has also sustained a steady population increase, which has only this year seen a decline. As a result, like many cities across the country, and indeed across the globe, Miami is facing a serious housing crisis. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 50% of households in Miami-Dade were ‘cost-burdened’, meaning they spend over 30% of their income on rent or a mortgage payment. Ensuring an adequate supply of affordable housing that is also climate-resilient is a significant challenge for the region, given that rental prices and temperatures continue to rise.
As public and private entities attempt to build new units, aging existing housing stock and rental units are often not equipped to handle higher temperatures and are generally not energy efficient. This creates an acute affordability problem in low-income communities, where “deferred maintenance and rising upkeep costs contribute to energy burden,” defined as the percentage of household income spent on energy.
Heat
“With a fan blowing stale hot air in her small living room, one Little Haiti homeowner told us about multiple offers from real estate developers looking to buy her modest home”
Miami-Dade has apparently made addressing these issues a priority. Its ‘Extreme Heat Toolkit’, developed with community partners, highlights the importance of housing and assistance to low-income residents in particular. For example, the county advocates for an energy burden fund, A/C unit replacements, and weatherization programs. It also has a ‘chief heat officer’ dedicated to finding solutions to the extreme heat Miami is facing, and whose office recently installed 1700 A/C units for public housing residents.
Long time Little Haiti resident tells us about the housing and heat challenges in Miami. Residents who lack A/C or can’t afford the cost of rising utilities often spend their days outside due to the oppressive heat.
Gentrification
While these are promising initiatives, heat is just one climate-exacerbated housing issue facing Miami residents. Perhaps the biggest housing challenge facing Miami’s working class, low-income, and/or marginalized residents is gentrification, which while being worsened by climate change impacts like sea-level rise and frequent flash flooding, is also made worse by the interlinked failure of authorities to enact equitable and inclusive policies to protect vulnerable residents. For example, increased flood insurance coverage now required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has led to some researchers noting that 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.” Investors preparing for these climate realities in insurance and ocean-front housing markets should not be surprising since just this March, the sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) revealed that for every one degree Celsius rise in global temperatures, the risk of displacement by flooding increases by about 50%.
As we have highlighted in previous work, Miami neighborhoods at even slightly higher elevation than ocean-front areas are becoming increasingly desirable, primarily for developers who are using - or, sometimes more accurately, misusing - the concept of climate risk combined with rising flood insurance costs for coastal properties to drive investment opportunities and turn a profit. The previously mentioned Magic City Innovation District in Little Haiti is one such investment billed as a redevelopment plan for the neglected neighborhood. This is but the latest revitalization project creating gentrification pressures on largely low-income areas “whereby property values and costs soar for a limited supply while the market slows for the coastal areas”. This phenomenon is playing out in Miami, with even the private sector taking notice in the case of Liberty City.
Liberty City’s revitalization project to replace Liberty Square public housing with a new development may have directly led to some residents’ actual displacement. We learned from speaking to Miami community advocates and subjects featured in the documentary Razing Liberty Square that many Liberty Square residents were offered housing vouchers to temporarily move out of their homes during construction of the new development. Although city and county officials had promised no resident would be displaced during the development phase, in reality, many residents never returned to claim their new housing. This is because as construction delays and neighborhood vulnerabilities increased, some residents found the vouchers eliminated their incentives to remain in public housing. However, many residents who left found themselves with less protection as they became subject to yearly rent increases following the initial year of subsidized housing provided by the vouchers.
There is emerging literature on the topic of ‘climate gentrification’, which generally speaking is the various ways in which climate change impacts and associated concepts of risk and valuation contribute to and exacerbate the redevelopment of so-called “under-developed” neighborhoods to make them more attractive to more affluent residents and investment. In one recent study of Miami-Dade County the authors used a conceptual model of climate mobility based on social vulnerability and exposure to sea-level rise. The outcome they identify as “displaced” - characterized by relatively high social vulnerability and relatively low exposure to sea-level rise - is an apt classification for both Little Haiti and Liberty City, where residents are being priced out of their own, relatively high-elevation communities by climate-exacerbated gentrification. These pressures have been so strong in Little Haiti that the neighborhood itself is shrinking, as FANM showed us during our visit. And while the neighborhood is the proverbial canary in the coal mine, economic pressures may displace some 56% of Miami-Dade residents in a 1 meter (40 inches) sea-level rise scenario, according to the study.
One factor that is likely accelerating this phenomenon is the low rate of home ownership in the community. For quite some time, owning a home has been financially out of reach for many in Little Haiti, locking Black residents out of a key method of building intergenerational wealth - already hindered by legacies of segregation - and making it relatively easy for owners who do not reside in the community to sell to developers and corporations looking to advance redevelopment projects and increase profits through gentrification. Many of these private investors and developers have pushed out Haitian commercial tenants as well, many of whom lacked leases.
Even the few homeowners who are established residents of Little Haiti are now facing unrelenting pressure to sell. We spoke with one such homeowner in her home, all huddled together in her small living room with a fan blowing stale hot air. With her husband standing by, attempting to cool himself, she told us about being approached multiple times over the past few months by developers hoping to purchase her modest home. Even with offers surpassing half a million dollars, the woman, who came to the US from Haiti in the 1980s and speaks Haitian Creole as a first language, struggled to imagine any other place she would like to or could afford to live. “Add to that, we want to leave the next generation a legacy of progress that we didn’t have,” she said in a mix of English and Haitian Creole.
Media accounts also indicate residents have been increasingly pressured to sell to investors, even offering millions of dollars to business owners. One resident told The New York Times he had been overwhelmed with letters, phone calls, even encroaching photos from investors, hoping to convince and even intimidate him into selling his three-bedroom home.
And in all this gentrification lies cultural loss too as Little Haiti becomes less and less Haitian with each investment, redevelopment and revitalization plan. Locals and those in the know have remarked that this loss is felt well beyond the Haitian community, given the neighborhood is the “symbolic center of a vibrant immigrant community famed the world over for its art, music and culture, represents an unmatched value not just for those who live and work in it, but for Miami and South Florida as a whole.”
Long time Little Haiti resident since 1986, Wadson Thony tells us the cost of housing has pushed Haitians out of the very community they built
Whether one rents or owns, all Miami residents are feeling the skyrocketing costs in utility bills. This was a point repeated by every organization and resident alike that we interviewed. Florida Power & Light customers saw another significant jump in the price of utilities in 2023, due to the rising price of natural gas, which is being passed onto consumers, rather than utility companies. This is especially burdensome for those on a fixed income, like some of the residents to whom we spoke.
Another major cost associated with housing in Florida is insurance coverage, and skyrocketing costs associated with fraudulent claims and rising climate disasters are making matters worse. For instance, currently Florida has lost over 30 insurance providers due to insolvency, limiting risk coverage or because of carriers leaving the state altogether. Although litigation costs related to high rates of insurance fraud is a factor, multiple national carriers like Farmers Insurance have cited the risk exposure from increasing hurricanes as reason to leave Florida entirely, leaving some homeowners financially vulnerable in a trend that will only get worse in disaster-prone areas across the country. When it comes to coverage for flooding events, which can occur in Miami even in the absence of storms, those who want to be protected are facing steep costs. Recent changes to how FEMA calculates flood insurance rates - including accounting for distance to the sea, rainfall levels, and the cost of rebuilding - mean that some ZIP codes in South Florida will see massive increases in premiums. And while coastal areas are generally seeing the highest increases, the reality for low-income households is that any increase could present difficult daily choices, such as whether to run the A/C on a hot day in the face of increasing utility bills. Ultimately, as it becomes more expensive to live in a particular area - whether because of climate-influenced rising insurance premiums, low supply of affordable housing, developer-driven gentrification, or a complex mix of the these - households may be forced to relocate, a process being accelerated by climate change.
Interestingly, this may all be made worse by Miami local government efforts to address extreme heat and other climate impacts. If policymakers are not careful, “haphazard” and “broad-stroke” investments like cooling centers and weatherization in traditionally marginalized areas could “exacerbate gentrification and displacement concerns” if they fail to keep cost-of-living in check and recognize the importance of established social networks.
At the international level, where climate-driven losses and damages are increasing in the Global South, the United States has endorsed climate policies like the Global Shield’s insurance scheme and disaster protection finance as measures to help developing countries combat the growing climate impacts and disasters that communities are suffering. However it’s worth mentioning that these very schemes are showing their vulnerability and inappropriateness in the face of climate impacts, with the shrinking Florida insurance market offering a cautionary tale as to whether insurance schemes are best placed to protect climate-impacted people both at home and abroad.
“At the international level, where climate-driven losses and damages are increasing in the Global South, the United States has endorsed climate policies like the Global Shield - an insurance scheme to help developing countries”
Based on its historic responsibility and outsized global emissions, the United States has a responsibility to commit to more robust safeguards for its own citizens and for populations in the Global South, many of whom are marginalized and bearing disproportionate impacts. Climate vulnerabilities exist in all countries, even rich ones like the United States, and clearly the United States must do better for its own citizens without diverting resources from developing countries and communities.
Extreme Heat and Health
As climate change increases the frequency of extremely hot days in the Miami area, the potential for adverse health impacts will rise, with certain groups particularly affected.
Heat-related illness is more common when the heat index is 80°F (26.7°C) or above, with issues increasing as heat index rises. When the heat index pushes past 105°F (40.6°C), everyone is at risk of conditions like cramps, exhaustion, stroke, and even death, while those with pre-existing heart, lung, or kidney problems are particularly vulnerable. With climate change, Miami-Dade is expected to see 88 days per year at this high index, with potentially devastating consequences for the area’s inhabitants.
Particular groups are at higher risk of experiencing heat-related illness, including adults over 65, young children, pregnant women, lower-income populations, outdoor workers, and people with certain conditions. A 2022 study conducted for Miami-Dade found that certain socio-economic and demographic characteristics contributed to negative health outcomes as a result of heat. Some of the examples given include Indigenous residents who lack access to healthcare services, experience language barriers and have limited A/C; Black residents who suffer from institutional biases and lack of access to healthcare; those in poverty who have poorly insulated homes and lack access to A/C; and those who do not speak English as a first language, and therefore lack access to timely weather warnings. This was amplified when we spoke to several individuals that speak Haitian Creole as their primary language, and thus do not have direct access to weather notices.
The good news is that essentially all heat-related illness is preventable, with the key caveat that proper measures are in place at scale. For example, certain communities will remain at higher risk for heat-related illness in the absence of assistance that ensures they do not need to choose between air conditioning their home and paying rent for the month. Anything less risks trapping certain residents in a vicious cycle of marginalization, poverty, and climate vulnerability.
Miami-Dade efforts to combat this cycle include implementing a federally-funded program to help low-income households pay for vital cooling - though it has recently experienced bureaucratic delays at the state level even as temperatures break records - as well as the publication of an extreme heat toolkit that proposes various strategies like expanding the tree canopy and removing impervious surfaces to reduce street-level temperatures. There are indications that the County is making progress on tree planting, but it is clear that there is a long way to go in many areas.
Extreme Heat and Outdoor Workers
Those who work outdoors, such as agricultural and construction workers, are particularly impacted by the heat that is getting worse in Miami due to climate change. Unfortunately, the state of Florida does not mandate heat protections for outdoor workers, leaving many vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in increasingly untenable working environments.
In a survey of agricultural workers, WeCount!, a membership organization of immigrant workers and families in South Florida, found that 51% of workers were not allowed to rest in the shade during the hottest part of the day. Only 15% reported ample access to safe drinking water, and 69% said they had experienced signs of heat-related illness. According to WeCount!’s Policy Director, agricultural workers, day laborers, construction workers, and gardeners - which the organization estimates applies to over 300,000 people in Miami-Dade - are 35 times more likely to die due to extreme heat as compared to the general population.
“There is a cruel irony that many Central American migrants fleeing climate change impacts in their own countries arrive in the US - often after treacherous journeys that place them at risk of detention and return - only to face dangerous climate impacts like extreme heat upon arrival.”
Impacts on Immigrant and Migrant Workers
Unfortunately, this is not a theoretical scenario: in the midst of Florida's most historic heatwave this summer, Efraín López García, a 29-year-old immigrant farmworker from Guatemala died while working outdoors in the sweltering heat on a farm in Homestead, just 39 miles south of Miami. García, who had already been working in Florida for nine years, was said to have been experiencing symptoms consistent with heat illness while on the job, but passed away despite experience working in Florida’s high temperatures, drinking water and using ice to cool down.
There is a cruel irony that many Central American asylum seekers and migrants fleeing climate change impacts in their own countries arrive in the US - often after treacherous journeys that place them at risk of detention and return - only to face dangerous climate impacts like extreme heat upon arrival.
Advocates warn that outdoor workers face dangerous and unsupported working conditions, including as a result of employer rules and regulations. For instance, the Farmworker Association of Florida Homestead describes situations where employers require outdoor landscaping workers to carry two bottles of gasoline instead of water, just so they can refuel in place and keep working. Still others that use a leaf blower carry a motor on their backs, generating even more heat, while those working with pesticides are required to wear a special suit, which is akin to working in a sauna.
In January, a 28-year old Mexican migrant farm worker in Parkland, just 45 miles north of Miami, died of heat illness on just his first day on the job. The US Department of Labor determined the farm labor contractor who hired him had failed to maintain and follow a proper heat illness plan that would have prevented his death, including allowing sufficient time for workers to acclimate to working in high temperatures, as well as to provide sufficient water, shade and rest.
At least 436 workers have now died from heat exposure between 2011 and 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2021, heat exposure claimed the lives of 36 workers, and since the Labor Department warns many of those who die of heat illness are usually new at their jobs, stronger oversight and employee rights and protections are clearly needed.
The situation is especially precarious for undocumented workers. A law approved by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that went into effect in July 2023, Senate Bill (SB) 1718, requires hospitals to collect and share information about patients’ immigration status and allocates $12 million to transfer undocumented immigrants to other states. As the number of extremely hot days increases, outdoor workers - and especially those without papers - will be severely impacted.
In the absence of state action, Miami-Dade is attempting to set its own heat standards at the county level. In July 2023, the Board of County Commissioners advanced an ordinance that would give outdoor workers “increased protections during episodes of extreme heat,” such as 10 minutes rest in the shade for every 2 hours worked when the heat index is above 90°F (32°C). Unfortunately, due to pushback from industry, and despite a strong showing by local groups and members of the community impacted by extreme heat, a final vote by the full commission has been deferred to at least March 2024. Even if it becomes law, its effectiveness may be limited due to the state legislature’s animosity towards local ordinances that may harm business interests.
“Public Citizen finds the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) could avoid as many as 50,000 injuries and illnesses by adopting a simple heat safety standard.”
At the federal level, the Biden administration recently announced new measures to help address the issues faced by those working in extreme heat. The measures include increased Department of Labor inspections of workplaces like farms and construction sites and the development of a hazard alert system to notify employers and employees about ways to stay protected from heat. Efforts to enact a federal safety standard are weighted with lengthy and bureaucratic delays, which can take decades to bring to fruition.
A report by Public Citizen highlights that despite calls 50 years ago from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health to protect workers from unsafe heat, the federal government has yet failed to enact such measures. In fact, Public Citizen found that heat exposure could be responsible for as many as 170,000 work-related injuries and around 600 to 2,000 deaths per year. Farmworkers, most of whom are migrants and undocumented, are the most vulnerable to heat-related injuries, illness and death, while construction workers are the most likely to die. Poor, black and brown workers are disproportionately at higher risk to heat-related tragedies. They find the central elements of an effective heat protection policy are adequate water, shade and breaks. Citing a California heat-safety standard that reduced injuries by 30%, Public Citizen finds the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) could avoid as many as 50,000 injuries and illnesses by adopting a simple heat safety standard. In the absence of federal safety standards, Public Citizen has petitioned OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard, which would carry the same force as a permanent standard for six months.
Based on our discussions with WeCount!, the Miami-Dade effort and federal measures are a welcome addition to the patchwork of solutions that the organization said must be strengthened and expanded at all levels in order to adequately protect workers. As WeCount! also highlighted, these solutions must also be informed by outdoor workers themselves, as they possess a wealth of knowledge and lived experience about climate and what it means to work the land.
Climate Disasters and Vulnerable/Marginalized Populations
In addition to extreme heat and sea-level rise, Miami is of course no stranger to tropical cyclones, including hurricanes. These severe weather events cause wind damage - like downed trees and powerlines - as well as flooding and storm surges. While support is available to help residents prepare before storms hit and provide assistance in the aftermath, there are serious disparities in the provision of support. With climate change increasing the severity of these storms, such differences may worsen in the absence of appropriate measures.
When it comes to preparing for storms, certain groups of people may lack the means necessary to adequately prepare and protect themselves and their property. Due to longstanding socioeconomic barriers, marginalized people - and in particular Black people - often have no choice but to live in areas that are vulnerable to climate events, and in housing that may be of poor quality. One issue we came across in Miami was the high cost of hurricane-resistant windows, which may be out of reach for low-income homeowners and simply not provided for renters and those living in public housing. We also talked to one community advocate who told us how much work there is to be done around educating and equipping communities before disaster strikes, such as ensuring low-income and marginalized people know how - and have the means - to assemble a hurricane kit. Special attention is needed to ensure that groups facing multiple barriers, like Black residents, are reached by such efforts.
Data has shown that, in the aftermath of a storm, people of color fare poorer than their white counterparts. A 2018 study comparing counties that experienced similar hazard damage ($10 billion) found that Black survivors’ wealth decreased by an average of $27,000, while white survivors saw their wealth increase by an average of $126,000. And while FEMA promised to make improvements in 2020, more recent findings show there is a lot of work still to be done. Research completed by sociologist Dr. Ethan Raker shows inequity throughout the post-disaster process. Homeowners seeking FEMA assistance to make repairs must generally receive an inspection beforehand, but Raker found that the higher the percentage of Black residents in a given ZIP code, the less likely applicants there were to receive an inspection. Even when an inspection was obtained, disaster victims in Black neighborhoods were rejected at a rate of 11%, compared to 4% in white neighborhoods. And when payments were made, they were between 5-10% lower in Black areas. For properties eligible for FEMA buyout and demolition, another researcher concluded that FEMA “seems to be disproportionately demolishing homes in communities of color,” raising serious concerns about community stability and cohesion. Lower-income residents who receive a buyout may not be able to afford to move anywhere closeby.
“Ultimately, as it becomes more expensive to live in a particular area - whether because of climate-influenced rising insurance premiums, low supply of affordable housing, developer-driven gentrification, or a complex mix of the these - households may be forced to relocate, a process being accelerated by climate change.”
Historic discrimination and inequity is driving the disparities impacting disaster victims today. For example, counties with a higher non-white population may have less tax revenue, which can mean fewer resources to help people navigate the complex process of applying for FEMA assistance in the first place. Disaster assistance also tends to favor homeowners over renters, and people of color are more likely to rent.
Conclusions and Recommendations
As our field visits and discussions with local organizations and residents clearly show, climate change is negatively impacting communities in Miami, whether directly or by exacerbating existing dynamics, such as gentrification and the intersection of historic and current discrimination. Although this brief covers extreme heat, gentrification, health, outdoor workers, and disasters - it should be noted that, for any community, climate change impacts are numerous and rarely static. Properly addressing them will require all stakeholders to regularly evaluate measures to ensure continued success.
These complex issues will certainly not be solved by a single law, policy shift, or election. But as local groups and residents on the frontlines highlighted to us, there are measures that various actors can take to improve the lives of residents in both the short and long term, with an eye to climate resilience and justice. The weight of the climate crisis should not deter action, which must occur at all levels.
Recommendations for Local Government
Like Americans in general, most Miami residents come into contact and are impacted by their local and state governments more so than the federal government. Unfortunately, the current Florida Governor and state legislature have repeatedly shown their lack of concern, and sometimes outright hostility, towards their most vulnerable and climate-impacted constituents. SB 1718, discussed above, is just one example. This damaging rhetoric and behavior is mirrored by some of Florida’s national politicians, such as when Representative Matt Gaetz (R, FL-1) recently warned federal officials, “Don’t Haiti My Florida” in a right-wing op-ed.
Thankfully the government of Miami-Dade County has shown itself to be interested in and committed to improving the lives of its constituents, with particular attention paid to marginalized and vulnerable groups. The county’s current mayor, Daniella Levine-Cava, is the founder of local organization Catalyst Miami, which works to advance justice and achieve prosperity in Miami-Dade.
In order to maintain effectiveness and credibility among its constituents, Miami-Dade, and the City of Miami where relevant, should focus on practical solutions that improve outcomes for residents who are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change:
Affordable energy efficiency upgrades for low-income residents, something for which FANM advocates, would go a long way in ensuring marginalized communities can build resilience in the face of extreme heat and severe storms while reducing the cost of energy, including life-saving A/C, for households struggling to make ends meet.
City planners need to expeditiously build climate-friendly community cooling centers, green spaces, and increase the planting of trees throughout low-income communities for residents who lack appropriate cooling measures in their own homes.
While only a first step, Miami-Dade has noted the importance of addressing past injustices as part of its heat strategy. One of the guiding principles of its heat action plan is to “be equitable” and ensure that actions are “driven by inclusive engagement, fair policies, and direct investments” that target disparities. One tangible way the County can pursue this is to ensure inclusive access by:
Providing access to and comprehensive extreme heat and other weather warning alerts in Spanish and Haitian Creole. This should be the standard at an absolute minimum. It is clear that worsening heat will only exacerbate existing inequities in the absence of targeted and adequate support.
The particularly vulnerable position of outdoor workers must be remedied by the County where possible. This should include a renewed commitment to ensuring that the recently deferred heat ordinance mentioned above is passed as soon as possible in a form that can actually hold non-compliant employers accountable. To ensure passage, the bill’s sponsors should work in conjunction with local civil society organizations to demonstrate to voters that the proposed measures are commonsense and based on established data and knowledge. For example, the draft Miami-Dade ordinance highlights the importance of acclimation periods for those working in extreme heat, something both OSHA and its California equivalent have highlighted as critically important to preventing heat-related illness for outdoor workers.
Ensure solutions are informed by outdoor workers themselves, as they possess a wealth of knowledge and lived experience about climate and what it means to work the land.
Regarding gentrification, a change of mindset and practice will be needed to ensure the development projects do not contribute to gentrification and displacement. For one, projects undertaken or otherwise supported by local governments must be mindful of current and past inequities so as not to make them worse. Appropriate safeguards are needed to ensure that ‘green’ investments that make marginalized communities more attractive to outsiders do not cause displacement. This is especially true in a metropolitan region with significant socio-economic inequality, like greater Miami.
Given the historical exclusion of certain populations, “mainstream best practices” may actually reinforce existing inequities. Perhaps the best way to combat this is to ensure that projects are locally-led. Climate-vulnerable communities, who generally have contributed little if at all to climate change, must be involved in projects from concept to completion. In addition, as part of its process for approving new projects, the County should consider not only the direct impacts of climate events, such as flood risk, but also the indirect impacts, such as increased housing demand in certain areas and potential displacement due to economic pressures associated with sea-level rise.
“The United States must do better for its own citizens without diverting resources from developing countries and communities. ”
Ultimately, local government’s capacity to make positive changes comes down to a question of priorities. As Catalyst Miami highlighted during a community meeting we attended, nearly a third of Miami-Dade’s expenditures are for ‘public safety’, including police and corrections, while just 11% goes to ‘health & society’ programs like public housing. A recalibration of the County budget could free up funds to support low-income, marginalized communities who are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and have historically been left behind by redevelopment and other initiatives. Policymakers should also consider implementing innovative revenue streams, like a tax on polluting cruise ships or an empty homes tax to help reduce the buying up of Miami’s luxury real estate as investment properties while the city suffers from a housing crisis. Such a measure was enacted in Vancouver, British Columbia and has generally been effective. The lessons learned from Vancouver’s efforts could help ensure a Miami version of the tax is applied fairly. The key for any new revenue source is that it addresses existing inequities and is not allowed to become regressive.
Recommendations for US Government
To protect Miami residents and communities across the US
While few expect Congress to pass much in the way of ‘progressive’ legislation, especially given the current divided control and overall polarization, this cannot be an excuse for total inaction at the federal level on climate change impacts and the dynamics with which they intersect. The Biden-Harris administration should not hesitate to issue executive orders where it can, while continuing to issue directives to relevant federal departments and agencies, such as the aforementioned Department of Labor inspections of worksites at which workers are exposed to extreme heat.
One policy that could have a significant positive impact is if OSHA issued a heat standard, even just on a temporary basis, as highlighted above. While it would only last for 6 months, this period would cover the hottest part of the year in the US, providing urgently needed and potentially life-saving protections for workers in South Florida and elsewhere. It is certainly no substitute for sustainable policy change like a permanent heat standard or Congressional action on heat protections, but when lives are on the line the federal government should use everything in the toolbox to minimize risk and provide protection where it can.
On the important issue of housing, the federal government should take a more active role in encouraging local governments, which are the recipients of federal housing funds, to adopt and share best practices on affordability and supply, issues which often overlap with climate vulnerability as our visit to Miami demonstrated. As with any policy that impacts vulnerable residents, it is vital for the federal government to incentivize - if not demand outright - the inclusion of residents and local organizations in the affected communities. If done properly, such outreach backed by policy change has the potential to alleviate distrust in government among marginalized communities. As one activist mentioned during a community meeting we attended, “There is plenty of housing, it’s just not for us”. The federal government, notably the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), can play a key role in facilitating local-level policy change to better serve communities bearing the brunt of a housing crisis that will only get worse as climate change drives up costs and increases displacement pressures.
An obvious area where the federal government must step up is ensuring that FEMA continues to reform so that the disparities among disaster survivors based on race and immigration status, highlighted above, are addressed. A more transparent process, led by officials who are not part of the agency and ideally do not need to report to anyone in the Department of Homeland Security, would help restore trust among people of color and immigrants, including asylum seekers, who may hesitate to seek help because of their immigration status, as has been well-documented like during New York’s hurricane Sandy.
To more effectively participate in multilateral discussions
Since the election of President Biden, the US has attempted to make up for lost time and re-establish itself as a leader in international climate negotiations. And while this is a positive development, it is critical that US climate policy understands and seeks to remedy the fundamental injustice of the climate crisis, both at home and abroad. The US must recognize that certain groups are being disproportionately affected by climate change regardless of their nationality, and then design and implement policy to address this reality. Racialized, low-income communities in Miami require targeted solutions in a way that is not wholly dissimilar to Indigenous communities in Kenya who have been neglected by their national government. Expecting nationally-led programming to simply trickle down to these climate-vulnerable, marginalized communities would not only be misguided, it would be unjust. Thankfully, there are promising signs that the US understands the importance of climate justice, but communities who are already suffering the impacts of climate change need high-level reporting and rhetoric to translate into assistance that is tangible and accessible.
Relatedly, who ultimately pays for assistance is key. Low-income communities, who contribute so little to the climate crisis, should not have to bear the cost in any way, such as through interest-accruing loans. This is apparent both at home - such as Miami residents who already cannot afford to air condition their homes as often as they would like - and abroad - in countries where public-sector indebtedness is already deeply entrenched. And yet the US continues to push multilateral development bank-led solutions during international climate talks while also avoiding any mention of its responsibility to provide funds. A change in strategy will be required in order to truly meet the US’ obligations to both its own people and the people in developing countries who have been harmed by emissions to which the US has greatly contributed.
Synopsis
While some impacts of climate change are obvious, such as wind damage and storm surge from increasingly strong hurricanes, others are not as immediately clear. Our research and discussions with residents and local organizations in Miami demonstrates that a wide array of climate impacts - extreme heat, disasters, sea-level rise and flooding events - are exacerbating and contributing to inequality, gentrification, displacement, and negative health outcomes, among others. Policy action is needed at all levels to ensure that residents of Miami - and other climate-vulnerable populations across the United States - are able to build and maintain resilient communities in the face of climate change. From support for everyday needs - like helping local residents pay for lifesaving A/C - to an overhaul of bureaucratic processes at the federal level, there is an urgent need for policymakers to recognize that failing to take adequate, targetted, and appropriate climate action will only maintain, if not worsen, existing inequities. Such a shift in mindset can also pay dividends at the international level, where the US continues to struggle to establish itself as a credible climate leader.
