Thread by @NadegeGreen

In many parts of the US black communities were pushed to low-lying flood prone areas.

In Miami, the opposite is true. Black communities were built on high elevation away from the coast. Now because of sea level rise that high land is in demand. (THREAD)
wlrn.org/post/seas-rise…

I teamed up with the @kai_wright and @Action__Johnson from @wnyc to tell the story of how elevation is now a key selling point for real estate in Miami—and what that means for high-elevation black neighborhoods like Little Haiti & Liberty City

Here's some of what we found.

@kai_wright @Action__Johnson @WNYC Little Haiti is made up of mostly low-income renters. Compared to other parts of Miami land is cheap & speculators have been buying it up.

Many of the single family homes & duplexes are now owned by LLCs. One is aptly named "Premium Elevation LLC."

@kai_wright @Action__Johnson @WNYC Magic City, a new billion-dollar development project, highlights that its location in Little Haiti makes it resilient to flooding in documents submitted to the city.

They also included a topography map showing Little Haiti's elevation— 7 feet and up above sea level.

@kai_wright @Action__Johnson @WNYC A study commissioned by the City of Miami also recommended that the city build more along the high coastal ridge where predominantly black communities are because they don’t flood.

@kai_wright @Action__Johnson @WNYC The high ridge that Miami's black neighborhoods were built on, west of the railroad tracks, is a dividing line for elevation & race in Miami.

Redlining & racist housing policies put black folks on high elevation while white folks coveted and built out the low-lying coast

@kai_wright @Action__Johnson @WNYC See the map below:

https://twitter.com/jddelapaz_/status/1141424676066824192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1141424676066824192&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wlrn.org%2Fpost%2Fseas-rise-miami-s-black-communities-fear-displacement-high-ground

@kai_wright @Action__Johnson @WNYC The idea of climate gentrification, according to Harvard researcher Jesse Keenan, is that it accelerates gentrification. It makes it happen faster.

For folks in these communities, all they is that they are being priced out.

@kai_wright @Action__Johnson @WNYC Louis was evicted from his Little Haiti apartment a year ago. His landlord demolished the building. Now there’s a big for sale sign on the empty lot.

Other high elevation communities in Miami are looking at Little Haiti as a warning sign of what is to come.

@kai_wright @Action__Johnson @WNYC Valencia, a climate activist who lives in Liberty City, said her grandfather always warned their land would be taken b/c it doesn't flood.

“They didn't know the science. They just knew and understood that when flooding happens everywhere else, it don't flood over here.”

@kai_wright @Action__Johnson @WNYC Listen to the first episode in the three parts series on climate gentrification in Miami here.
wnycstudios.org/podcasts/the-s…

@kai_wright @Action__Johnson @WNYC Part 2 of the Miami climate gentrification series:

@Action__Johnson and @kai_wright take us to Liberty City. “They're gonna steal our communities because it don't flood.” #ClimateChange

wnycstudios.org/podcasts/the-s…