Climate Change

Climate Change Is Accelerating Gentrification In Some US Cities

As sea levels rise, some individuals in coastal cities are moving away from the ocean and are pushing out longtime residents elsewhere.

Climate Change Is Accelerating Gentrification In Some US Cities
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As climate change pushes sea levels higher and higher, many U.S. cities are facing a peculiar predicament: climate gentrification.

Take Miami, for instance. Many neighborhoods in the city once denied financial services by lenders are now quickly gaining value.

That's because they sit on high ground and are much less likely to flood than coastal properties.

In Charleston, South Carolina, water levels could rise 7 inches by 2030. Officials say the city doesn't have the resources to protect existing public housing from sea-level rise.

Climate Change Is Destroying This Virginia Island
Climate Change Is Destroying This Virginia Island

Climate Change Is Destroying This Virginia Island

The Army Corps of Engineers says Tangier Island could be uninhabitable in 25 years.

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And in Galveston, Texas, where 569 public housing buildings were destroyed by two hurricanes, the city initially stalled for seven years on spending billions to rebuild them. Some saw it as an effort "to keep public housing from coming back."

By 2100, as many as 13 million Americans could be displaced by rising water levels, but many Americans are already seeing the effects now.