Burlington, Vermont is a northeastern city that could be a climate haven. halbergman/E+/Getty Images
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Florida is sinking. Western states are drying up and catching fire. Is there anywhere in the US that will still be a good home as the climate crisis continues?
The answer is yes. There are cities that are referred to as “climate havens” because they are located in areas that are less likely to suffer from extreme weather events and because they are designed in such a way that they can accommodate more residents.
Tulane University associate professor of real estate Jesse Keenan gave CNBC a list of possible ones climatic paradises Thursday, most of which are in the East and Midwest. Keenan emphasized that these cities could take steps today that will make it easier for them to welcome climate migrants in the future.
“We're not going to create a community for tomorrow,” he told CNBC. “We're going to create a community for today. And this will be the foundation for building a community for tomorrow.”
Keenan's list is as follows:
- Asheville, North Carolina
- Buffalo, New York
- Burlington, Vermont
- Detroit, Michigan
- Duluth, Minnesota
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Rochester, New York
Former National League of Cities program manager for climate resilience and sustainability, Anna Marandi, also suggested Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Orlando, Florida. While Orlando might be a surprising choice, Marandi said its carbon-free efforts meant it was worth considering.
Many US residents have already been forced to move due to climate change. They include people who left New Orleans for good afterward Hurricane Katrina and coastal Alaska Native villages like Shishmaref and Newtok displaced by storms and melting permafrost, as Yale Environment 360 highlighted.
University of Florida assistant professor of sociology Matthew Hauer estimated that sea-level rise will force 13.1 million U.S. residents to relocate by 2100. Keenan, meanwhile, estimated that 50 million people in the U.S. would they could relocate to more climate-friendly areas.
“Temperate northern states will have the largest inbound migration,” he told Yale Environment 360.
The Great lakes The region is considered particularly attractive because it is spared both the storms of the East Coast and the wildfires of the West and has no shortage of fresh water, Grist pointed out. In addition, the lakes help moderate extreme temperatures, and global warming means the region's notorious winters are becoming less bitter.
However, these potential climate havens need to really prepare to welcome more residents in a sustainable and fair way.
“In some cases, it's become more of a slogan for economic development than the actual detailed and robust planning that will be needed to really make these places climate change havens,” University at Buffalo professor Nicholas Raykovic told Grist.
Steps cities can take include enacting housing policies to protect against gentrification, planning for climate impacts that will continue to occur — such as increased flooding in the Midwest — and reducing emissions by promoting renewables. energy, public transport and denser housing.
“I see climate migration as an opportunity for these cities to avoid the mistakes of urban sprawl,” Marandi told CNBC. “They often have a vibrant, walkable downtown that might just need a little revitalization.”
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