Running head: MIAMI AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS
Miami Affordable Housing Crisis
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MIAMI AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS
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Miami Affordable Housing Crisis
Miami has one of the most robust real estate markets in the country with majority of
the value in ocean-front homes. However, climate change has began depressing the value of
waterfront property while inflating the cost of living further inland, in working-class
communities of color like Little Haiti and Liberty City (Wdowinski et al., 2016). Developers
have began targeting struggling homeowners offering buyouts or relocation help. Renters are
more vulnerable to market fluctuations, with many struggling as landlords capitalize on the
expected increase in demand. The gentrification of Liberty City is of particular concern since
the neighborhood has traditionally been centered around a public housing project associated
with low income earners and people of color. Global warming driven by sustained pollution
has led to low-line flooding in the Atlantic and Everglades thereby causing concerns about
the future of Florida’s real estate market especially with a growing separation of wealth and
stagnant wages.
Since 2002, the Florida legislature has reassigned more than a billion dollars from the
Sadowski Trust fund, designated towards affordable housing initiatives, to the general
revenue fund. The Sadowski Trust assigns 70% of its funds to the SHIP program that
provides money to local governments to develop and maintain affordable housing. The
remaining 30% is then allocated to the State Housing Trust Fund (Ramsey-Musolf, 2017).
Consequently, the low income population has been suffering as rents continue ascending. The
affordable housing crisis has been worsened by the influx of at least 300,000 Puerto Ricans
fleeing the outcome of Hurricane Maria and Irma. Local experts state that with enough
funding, they can allocate resources to affordable housing initiatives and preserve the welfare
of low-income populations.
MIAMI AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS
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Legislators are facing more pressure from advocates to stabilize rents, raise minimum
wages, and build more affordable housing. There has also been calls to increase investment in
renewable energy sources such as wind and solar to reduce the effects of climate change.
Raising the minimum wage is the most viable solution for all parties involved. Rising rents
have been driving away workers that many service businesses depend on such as restaurants
and hotels. In some cases, workers have left Miami entirely as the cost of living rises beyond
sustainable levels. Therefore, an increase in the minimum wage would help in reducing the
economic burden while legislative control of the Sadowski Trust Fund would ensure more
funds available for affordable housing projects.
Based on climate change projections, experts estimate that Florida will experience
flooding at least three feet above current levels by mid-century (Wdowinski et al., 2016).
Rising pollution levels from cars, power plants, and factories have led to more carbon
trapping which leads to melting polar ice caps and rising sea levels. Additional investment in
sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar would help in reducing the production of
greenhouse gases and the associated climatic changes. In the long-term, this would reduce the
risk of flooding for ocean-front properties thereby stalling the encroachment of low-income
neighborhoods.
Miami’s affordable housing crisis is driven by multiple factors primarily climate
change and legislative irresponsibility. Continued pollution through use of fossil fuels has
resulted in climate change and rising sea levels thus increasing the risk of flooding.
Furthermore, for more than a decade, legislative officials have been reassigning funds from
the Sadowski Trust Fund to plug deficits in the State’s General Revenue Fund which has led
to less affordable housing initiatives. The government can respond by limiting the
reassignment of dedicated funds and investment in alternative energy sources.
MIAMI AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS
References
Metcalf, G. (2018). Sand castles before the tide? Affordable housing in expensive cities.
Journal of Economic Perspectives, 32(1), 59-80.
Ramsey-Musolf, D. (2017). State mandates, housing elements, and low-income housing
production. Journal of Planning Literature, 32(2), 117-140.
Wdowinski, S., Bray, R., Kirtman, B. P., & Wu, Z. (2016). Increasing flooding hazard in
coastal communities due to rising sea level: Case study of Miami Beach, Florida.
Ocean & Coastal Management, 126, 1-8.
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