THE SILVER LINING TO CLIMATE ADAPTATION -- Part 5

The High Cost of Resiliency Efforts and the Hope that 

Lies in Wise Government Planning and Spending

In coastal areas outside of Florida, which are not hemmed in on a narrow peninsula by the Everglades, relocating upland might be an option — especially in areas such as the Carolinas and Georgia — where the topography rises greatly once inland.

In the South Florida region, one solution may be a much-dreaded one. Identifying drainage basin areas and removing all development from them. 

Even in lower density areas, this is extremely costly because it involves buying out residential and commercial property owners and possibly also paying to help relocate them. 

Compounding that difficult solution is the fact that virtually all coastal areas in the region are among the most highly valued. 

As Murley noted “our impact is in wealthy coastal areas and their approach is not to cut and run.” 

Murley said the silver lining is that climate adaptation “doubles down on smart growth principles” such as density and premium transit. 

The county’s SMART Plan for six rapid transit corridors will concentrate jobs and housing near transit stations and reduce the cost of mobility for lower income/working class families.