Florida Shows How Coastal Cities Can Prepare for Rising Seas and Stronger Storms

Architects, designers, and planners in Florida are finding new ways to protect people from floods and storms. Their ideas could help millions of Americans who live near the coast. About 129 million people — nearly 40% of the U.S. population — live in coastal counties that face rising seas and stronger hurricanes. Florida has been dealing with these threats for a long time, and it is now sharing what it has learned.

Jeffrey Huber was only 12 years old when Hurricane Andrew hit southern Florida in 1992 and destroyed his family's roof. Rescue workers couldn't reach many neighborhoods for days, and families depended on donated food for weeks. Huber lived in a trailer with his family for over a year. That experience shaped his career — today he is a landscape architect and professor who designs cities that can survive extreme weather.

Huber says big storms are becoming more common because of climate change, which is also causing sea levels to rise. In cities like Miami, flooding can come from rain, high tides, and storm surges all at once. He believes cities should not try to stop water completely but learn to live alongside it. 'The question isn't about how we stop water, but it's how we live on, with and over it,' he said.

A former lawyer named Anya Freeman came up with a creative answer to flooding in Miami Beach. She used to rush home every time it rained just to move her car before her street flooded knee-deep. In 2024, she started Kind Designs, a company that makes 3-D-printed 'living seawalls' from a safe concrete mixture. These walls are shaped like natural features such as mangrove roots, which give sea animals places to live and hide.

Living seawalls are good for both people and nature. They block at least 45% of wave energy, which helps stop erosion and flooding. Researchers found 51 species living on one wall just one year after it was placed. Kind Designs has installed 16 walls across Florida and plans to build more in California, New York, and at U.S. Navy bases.

In Miami Beach, a housing complex called Vista Breeze shows how homes can be built to handle serious floods. The 119-unit building for senior citizens sits 10 feet above sea level and is designed to survive storm surges up to 20 feet high. Its concrete has a waterproof powder mixed in, and its steel rebar is coated in zinc to prevent rust. These steps are simple and not very expensive, but they make buildings much stronger.

Vista Breeze also faces southeast to catch natural breezes, keeping it cool without much air conditioning. Shared spaces like courtyards and terraces help residents connect with each other. Even the stairs are made more visible than the elevators to encourage people to walk. Huber, who was the lead architect, says these design choices are small but make a big difference.

About 30 miles north in Fort Lauderdale, a parking lot was turned into DC Alexander Park, which handles floods and gives people a fun outdoor space. A 25-foot shaded overlook provides shelter on hot days. Native plants and trees around the edges soak up rainwater and saltwater. The park is a strong example of one space doing many important jobs.

Urban designer Aaron DeMayo has spent about a decade creating a large plan called the Coastline to protect all of southern Florida from rising seas and storm surges. The plan would cost a lot, but DeMayo says it is worth it because it would protect hundreds of miles of waterfront and nearby property. At the University of Miami, designer Thomas Klein is working on a fund to help lower-income communities afford climate-resilient projects. His team is also designing 'sponge parks' — green spaces built to soak up stormwater and reduce flooding.

Klein says Florida's tough rules have pushed designers to come up with smarter, multipurpose solutions. A new road, for example, might include bike lanes, a bus lane, and features to absorb stormwater and cut down on heat. These kinds of designs solve several problems at once and cost less in the long run. Klein believes Florida's ideas can be used by coastal cities all over the world.