EVERYBODY WINS WHEN FLORIDA’S
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IS PROTECTED
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With a land mass of less than eight square miles, it is
walkable, densely populated, but only four feet above sea level.
Some of the most valuable residential and commercial real
estate in the U.S. is vulnerable to both sunny-day tidal flooding and
paralyzing flooding simply when it gets heavy rains.
EVERYBODY WINS WHEN FLORIDA’S
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IS PROTECTED
Dix.Hite+Partners designed a community that connects
people to nature. Boardwalks and pedestrian bridges float through nature
without disrupting the land.
Rather than huge suburban lawns that require intense
watering and chemicals to maintain, the community’s greenery is focused on a
permanent wilderness preserve donated by the Starkey family.
EVERYBODY WINS WHEN FLORIDA’S
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IS PROTECTED
The Outside
Collaborative, a proactive nonprofit group in Central Florida, promotes
resiliency subdivision by subdivision.
Knowing that the combination of rapid growth, chemical
runoff and saltwater infiltration threatens Florida’s sustainable freshwater
supply, the collaborative has created a pattern book filled with designs that
minimize or eliminate irrigation, fertilizer and pesticides.
EVERYBODY WINS WHEN FLORIDA’S
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IS PROTECTED
They addressed ways to protect property in the face of
rising water during king tides and other sea-level-rise events.
The estimated cost to elevate roads and add a stormwater
system is upwards of $4 billion.
But the Keys do not have a large tax base.
While leaders lobby for state and federal dollars, they
understand the concept Adam Smith shared at one of NAR’s Sustainability
Summits.
“We can’t afford not to champion sustainability.
Adaptation can cost billions, but doing nothing comes at a much more staggering cost,” said Smith, a leading climate expert at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information
EVERYBODY WINS WHEN FLORIDA’S
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IS PROTECTED
The narrow land mass—a 120-mile-long string of tropical islands with
coastline on each side of it—has created a fun in the sun gold mine where
nearly 50% of Monroe County residents work in the tourism industry.
But the 80,000 people who call the Keys home year-round
are experiencing sunny-day flooding—roads made impassible by tidal activity—no
tropical storm rainfall required.
Sea levels in Monroe County have risen nearly four inches
from 2000-2017.
A net additional six to 13 inches has been projected from
2018 to 2040, according to Monroe County government statistics.
WHILE APPROVING FAULTY WHEELCHAIR ACCESS
THAT FAILS ALL THE TIME
This is what happens when you segregate the wheelchair accessible entrance from the main entrance in an urban area.
An
impenetrable gauntlet of human waste, broken glass and homeless person’s
bedding.
When a city
allows adaptive reuse of a building, but permits lousy wheelchair access – it is
ableism at its worst.
Millions of
dollars were spent converting an old post office into a craft brewery in
downtown Miami.
The excuse
is historic preservation prevents an appropriate ramp at the main entrance.
It’s total
BS.
Stairs are
NOT historic.
Facades are.
EVERYBODY WINS WHEN FLORIDA’S
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IS PROTECTED
They commissioned a landscape architecture firm. As an
alternative to view-destroying sea walls,
Curtis + Rogers Design Studio proposed nature-based
solutions, such as living shorelines, natural breakwaters, nearshore artificial
reefs and some raised seawalls.
The approach also would add 39 acres of waterfront,
eco-friendly park land for the citizens of Miami.
