The Cost of Culture: Miami’s Gentrification
- Allan Tompkins
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By Allan Tompkins
Miami’s cultural melting pot is being forgotten amid the city’s increasingly capitalistic development.
When people across the country think of Miami, images of warm weather, palm trees, beaches and an elaborate city life often come to mind. And while attractions like Miami’s Designer District and Brickell City Centre are rightfully perceived as generalizations for this concept of Miami, residents of less-glamorized towns like Kendall, Doral or Westchester understand the authentic Miami that often gets overshadowed by the more youthful-looking downtown.
This Miami isn’t characterized by the number of clubs it has or its proximity to luxury stores, but rather one where generations of Hispanic immigrants have lived for decades with their ever-developing families. In this Miami, you’re greeted in Spanish first and English second and you’re only two connections away from just about anyone in the city.
Despite the presumed superficiality that the consumer-dominated spirit of downtown Miami may seem to some people, the sense of familial community flowing through the residential districts produces a sense of authenticity that cannot be found anywhere else. Recently, however, the foundational communities that helped and currently define what it means to be a Miamian are being driven out by rising housing costs partially driven by a desire to glamorize, or gentrify these residential areas of Miami-Dade County.
What used to be considered the touristy aspect of Miami that initially attracted visitors from all around the world is now extending its sphere of influence into the homes of those unable to afford the charm of downtown and is forming somewhat of a parasitic relationship between the two areas. A report from April 2024 by the business and financial services company Moody’s found a rent increase of 32.3% from 2020 to 2024, exemplifying the effect of what’s already happening.
Part of the reasoning for this is a concept known as climate gentrification which explains that because of climate change and rising sea levels, more in-land properties, previously owned by lower-class individuals, are seen as prime real estate investments for the future that might soon be labeled as beachfront properties.
One neighborhood that’s already experiencing this is Little Haiti, which has received a $1 billion, 18-acre renovation project that will make it known as the Magic City Innovation District. The neighborhood, where 44.1% of people have Haitian ancestry and 47.7% aged 5 and above primarily speak French, is currently facing long-term threats to the sustainability of its rich culture that has been present in Miami for over 50 years.
This process is also unlikely to stop anytime soon as a study from the Public Library of Science predicts an influx of about 700,000 people moving to Miami-Dade County by 2030, creating a demand large enough to justify the means for premiumizing the city. Miami Realtors has also shown how international buyers purchased 49% of new South Florida construction as of June 2025.
A vast majority of these international investments came from Latin America and in fact, 43% of the Miami Association of Realtors, the largest local Realtor association in the country, is Hispanic, according to Zippia. Essentially, those cultures that Miami’s gentrification efforts are negatively affecting are partially involved in the direct infliction of the policy, raising concerns over the potential lack of awareness that many residents and realtors might have.
However, with affordability underlying the crisis for thousands of Miamians, in Aug. 2025, Miami-Dade County approved a new plan known as TheHueHub, which is an $880 million project aimed at alleviating the costly housing and potentially offering a gateway for displaced communities to depend on.
With efforts already underway, it’d be unfair to say that nothing is being done toward the maintenance of our authentic Miami, yet it would be just as unfair to simply accept what is happening anyway. Because it is our way of life, the cultural diversity of this city is one that is often taken for granted and one that will hopefully never be missed. By ultimately remembering where we came from and how much more we represent simply through our existence, the heart and soul of what makes Miami the city so many people love will never be something of the past but of the future.
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