Climate Gentrification and Environmental Displacement
Morgan Touhy ’27
Eugenie Kim ’25
Climate Gentrification describes the injustices inflicted upon communities of color prone to environmental disasters. Little Haiti, a low-income community in the heart of Greater Miami, is home to families displaced due to the demand in low-lying areas from affluent buyers.
Many coastal residents in Miami fear that the rising ocean levels will push them inland (Kim & E&E News, 2023). Such homeowners are considered “migrating” residents who will face the threat of sea-level rise and yet have the money to move. The land developers then move “displaced” households, who will ultimately experience climate gentrification, from poor communities to other neighborhoods with condensed poverty populations (Kim & E&E News, 2023). More than half of the 2.6 million residents in the Miami area will experience “climate gentrification” and pressure to relocate if sea levels rise by 40 inches (Kim & E&E News, 2023). The threat imposed on Little Haiti is further exacerbated when, as Nadia Seetram shares, “markets are aligning with the idea that there is a higher flood risk in these lower-lying areas,” taking advantage of climate change for economic profits (Kim & E&E News, 2023). Current locals in Little Haiti are opposed to retail movement into their community. “Little Haiti is our home away from home,” said Jean Dondy Cidelca. “It’s the closest I can be to my homeland” (Chéry & Morales, 2023). Little Haiti, targeted because it is 10 feet above sea level and half the residents live below the poverty line, has led to a surge in development and property values (Kim & E&E News, 2023). Many Haitians are moving to North Miami, leaving mostly the older generation living in Little Haiti. This displacement of younger demographics has impacted individuals with language and literacy obstacles, and they will take these limitations with them if they move (Riley, 2021).
Little Haiti is a community rich in diversity and cultural upbringing where storytelling murals memorialize neighborhood icons, and public buildings are covered with framed paintings from local artists (Chéry & Morales, 2023). Little Haiti risks losing its cultural identity due to the “shift in migration patterns which accelerate the displacement of established residents and inflate property values and taxes, widening the socio-economic divide" (Relman 2024). New retail spaces for furniture and content creators are pushing out businesses selling Haitian goods. Locals share concerns about this being the “end for their cultural enclave” (Chéry & Morales, 2023). Many residents agree with Jan Mapou: "I want to keep this for the community. This is my legacy. I even told my children: ‘If anything happens to me, do your best to conserve this” (Chéry & Morales, 2023).
Climate Gentrification has targeted marginalized communities throughout the United States, not only in Little Haiti alone. Globally, we seek environmental justice to battle environmental degradation and climate alteration. Although one could argue both sides of the “who gets what retail” debate, the question we should be solving is who has the right to a safe environment. The residents of Little Haiti had once settled here seeking stability and safety, but now, stability, once present in the culture and community, has been threatened yet again (Mooney, 2020).
References
Chéry, DN. & Morales, C. (2023). Little Haiti Residents Fear Losing Their ‘Home Away from Home. New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/12/realestate/little-haiti-miami.html
Kim, M. & E&E News. (2023). Climate Gentrification will displace one million people in Miami alone. Scientific American.
Mooney, T. (2020). Little Haiti residents forced from home again as climate change upends Miami real estate. CBS News.
Relman, E. (2024). Miami shows how a new kind of gentrification is coming to US cities. Business Insider.
Riley, N. (2021). Gentrification strikes Miami's Little Haiti as beach residents flee rising water. National Catholic Report.
