![\"Walter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/headshot.jpg\")
Walter Duke III is former mayor of Dania Beach.<\/p>\nFor more than a decade, the real issue regarding sea-level rise was never awareness. Everyone understood the risk. The question was whether the business community \u2014 the people who ultimately shape markets \u2014 would take it seriously enough to act.<\/p>\n
Ten years ago, I argued that nothing meaningful would happen until they did.<\/p>\n
At the time, sea-level rise wasn\u2019t priced into decisions. Development continued. Capital flowed. The issue was acknowledged \u2014 but not acted on.<\/p>\n
By 2024, that started to change.<\/p>\n
Walter Duke III is former mayor of Dania Beach.<\/p>\n
Insurance costs surged. Flooding became more frequent. Lenders and investors began asking harder questions. Sea-level rise moved from a theoretical concern to a financial one.<\/p>\n
But awareness doesn\u2019t fix infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Action does.<\/p>\n
This week, Broward County took a step forward.<\/p>\n
The Broward County Commission approved $20 million for canal repairs and drainage upgrades \u2014 real dollars for pumps, culverts and water management systems that directly affect flooding.<\/p>\n
This is immediate risk mitigation, not long-range planning.<\/p>\n
Just as important is how it happened.<\/p>\n
The Broward Workshop \u2014 led by Chairperson Tim Petrillo \u2014 was vocal in pushing resilience to the forefront, signaling that the business community sees this as a priority. That effort, combined with Mayor Mark Bogen\u2019s newly formed Mayor\u2019s Business Council, helped bring the issue onto the commission\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a meaningful shift.<\/p>\n
Ten years ago, the business community was largely on the sidelines.<\/p>\n
Today, it is at the table and helping drive the conversation, because this isn\u2019t just about flooding. It\u2019s about the economic foundation of Broward County.<\/p>\n
Sea-level rise now directly affects insurance costs, property values, infrastructure reliability and workforce stability. And increasingly, it affects housing affordability.<\/p>\n
Broward County recognized that in 2024 when it adopted its Ten-Year Affordable Housing Master Plan<\/a>, a long-term strategy to expand supply and improve accessibility.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the reality: You cannot solve housing without solving resilience.<\/p>\n If infrastructure isn\u2019t reliable, construction costs rise. If insurance becomes unaffordable \u2014 or unavailable \u2014 projects don\u2019t move forward. If long-term risk is unclear, capital looks elsewhere.<\/p>\n Over time, that means less supply and higher prices. The two issues are directly linked.<\/p>\n To Broward County\u2019s credit, it is starting to address them that way.<\/p>\n In 2025, the county also adopted a Countywide Resilience Plan<\/a> \u2014 a long-term strategy to strengthen neighborhoods, reduce risk, and improve community stability. The plan includes a two-tiered adaptation approach with milestones for 2050 and 2070 and is expected to reduce flood-related property damage while supporting real estate values and economic activity.<\/p>\n The $20 million allocation is part of a broader effort. Broward and its municipalities have already secured nearly $66 million in Resilient Florida<\/a> funding for infrastructure improvements, alongside a long-term investment framework that contemplates tens of billions of dollars in resilience spending.<\/p>\n Add in nature-based solutions such as wetland restoration, and this begins to look less like isolated projects and more like a coordinated strategy.<\/p>\n Is it enough? No.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s progress, and it reflects a shift in mindset.<\/p>\n A decade ago, sea-level rise was treated primarily as an environmental issue. Today, it\u2019s a financial one.<\/p>\n The risk is being priced by insurers, lenders and investors. And when that happens, behavior changes.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why business community engagement matters.<\/p>\n It brings discipline, capital and urgency. Government cannot solve this alone. But when the public and private sectors align, progress becomes possible.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what Broward County is beginning to show.<\/p>\n