A University of Miami study has developed a new approach to evaluate how multiple climate resilience plans work together—or fail to do so—in addressing the growing risks posed by climate-related hazards.
Published in the journal Sustainable Cities and Society, the study was conducted by Sarbeswar Praharaj, assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Geography and Sustainable Development and director of M.P.S. in Urban Sustainability and Resilience Program, and Shouraseni Sen Roy, professor in the Department of Geography and Sustainable Development. Three students also helped with the study, titled "Urban Planning for Climate Resilience: Evaluating Multi-Level Network of Resilience Plans in Miami-Dade County."
The researchers analyzed 37 resilience plans developed at regional, county, municipal, and neighborhood levels. These plans outlined actions and investments to address flooding, sea level change, hurricanes, extreme heat, infrastructure, transportation, and land use issues.
"Miami-Dade has an extensive network of plans that contribute to resilience building," said Praharaj. "Our study took over a year, and rather than looking at these plans in isolation, we examined how they interact as a network to support coordinated implementation."
Praharaj said flood resilience and coastal environmental protection emerged as the dominant priorities across many of the plans. Frequently proposed strategies included expanding green spaces and park systems, improving canals and drainage infrastructure, elevating roads, strengthening stormwater systems, and installing flood barriers.
"Some plans also emphasize restoring nature-based systems such as mangroves as barriers to storm surges while providing ecological benefits," he said.
However, the researchers identified several important gaps. While most plans share similar goals, they often operate in silos, Praharaj said.
Limited coordination exists between agencies and planning efforts, and few plans include mechanisms to monitor how actions in one plan influence others and produce co-benefits across sectors. The study also found that issues of public health, social equity, and the needs of vulnerable populations received less attention than physical infrastructure projects.
One important finding was that neighborhood-level plans, such as the Flood Mitigation Plan of Cutler Bay and the Little River Adaptation Plan, generally performed better than higher-level plans on measures such as community responsiveness and implementation. These local plans tended to be more closely aligned with residents' needs and incorporated stronger stakeholder engagement throughout the planning process.
Overall, the researchers found that Miami-Dade's resilience plans lack sufficient integration, feedback, and evaluation mechanisms, making it difficult to achieve a coordinated, long-term strategy for climate resilience.
Mirna Obeid, a fifth-year student at the School of Architecture who contributed to the study, said the research underscores the importance of multi-agency planning in complex, climate-vulnerable cities.
"I think this study is important because Miami faces numerous environmental challenges and is among the cities most vulnerable to a changing climate," she said. "In order to survive and thrive, Miami needs a responsive long-term resilience plan against climate hazards."
The study's main recommendation is that Miami-Dade County should move beyond individual planning efforts toward adopting a more coordinated planning network.
The authors call for stronger cross-agency collaboration and better monitoring and evaluation systems to maximize the benefits of resilience investments, said Praharaj.
"Plans don't fail because communities lack good ideas," said Praharaj. "The challenge is ensuring that strategies developed by different agencies and jurisdictions communicate with one another, complement each other, and evolve together as conditions change."
While this study focuses on Miami-Dade County, the evaluation framework developed by the team can also help other coastal cities understand how multiple resilience plans function together and identify opportunities to strengthen climate governance.
With support from the National Science Foundation, the team is disseminating the findings through stakeholder meetings, social media, and community networks while developing a centralized platform that integrates resilience plans, projects, and investments to help local governments better coordinate resilience initiatives and track progress over time.
