There Goes the Neighborhood: Miamiis a three-episode series co-produced by WLRN and WNYC Studios. Our entry includes an excerpt from each episode.
The series explores the emerging relationship between climate change and gentrification in Miami – a particularly vulnerable part of the country. Historically, higher elevation neighborhoods away from the coast have tended to be home to predominantly black and lower income residents. In Miami, there is now increased interest in neighborhoods including Little Haiti, because of their proximity to downtown and their elevation. This comes with ballooning rents, and some longtime residents are being pushed out.
We introduce listeners to people who live in the communities being affected, researchers who have studied the correlation between elevation and real estate costs, developers who are shaping the changes, and government officials.
There Goes the Neighborhood: Miami, Part 1 (November 5, 2019)
Sea level is rising—and so is rent.
The relationship between our changing climate and increasingly unaffordable cities is playing out in Miami. Miami has seen a wave of development in neighborhoods that used to be ignored by outside investment -- and one of the driving factors is cheap land and how close it is downtown. Little Haiti and Liberty City sit high above sea level. They don’t flood. WLRN’s Nadege Green and WNYC’s Kai Wright take us to Little Haiti. First we hear from Mimi Sanon Jules, who used to own a thrift store before she got priced out.
There Goes the Neighborhood: Miami, Part 2 (November 6, 2019)
The fear of mass displacement isn’t paranoia for black people in Liberty City. It’s family history.
Neighborhoods that sit on high elevation in the City of Miami are bracing themselves. As South Florida faces sea level rise projections, high elevation is becoming a key selling point on where to build and buy. We take you to Liberty City, a neighborhood at least 10 feet above sea level. Longtime Liberty City residents are familiar with the threat of being moved off their land. WNYC’s Kai Wright and Christopher Johnson introduce us to climate activist and Liberty City native Valencia Gunder.
There Goes the Neighborhood: Miami, Part 3 (November 7, 2019)
Life and loss in Little Haiti, where residents find themselves in the path of a land rush.
Miami is growing fast. Even though there’s still a lot of building happening along the coast and in low lying areas -- with the looming threat of sea level rise -- more investment is happening on higher ground. That’s causing a real fear of displacement in predominantly black communities. WLRN’s Nadege Green and WNYC’s Kai Wright look at Miami’s luxury housing market, and they take us back to Little Haiti.
Complete episodes are hereand here. As part of the series, WLRN’s Nadege Green wrote this article, which was also published in the Miami Herald.
There Goes the Neighborhood: Miamiis a continuation of WNYC Studios’ original There Goes the Neighborhood podcast. These stories were edited and produced in partnership with WLRN in Miami.
