We have also learned that there is strength in numbers. Miami can access a wealth of resources, including sea level rise projections, thanks to its membership in regional bodies like the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact. The city has also gained a broader perspective on urban resilience challenges and approaches by joining global networks such as the Global Commission on Climate Adaptation, where we both serve as board members , and 100 Resilient Cities.

Finally, we have learned that effective adaptation is a collective endeavor. It requires a holistic, long-term approach that takes into account the needs of our citizens today and in the future. This requires robust and meticulous long-term planning, informed investment in resilient infrastructure, adapting land use and building policies to address the climate challenge, advancing new transportation solutions, educating and informing citizens about climate change, training and mobilizing volunteers during emergencies, informing private property owners of climate risks, and forging partnerships with research institutions and business innovators. As this long list makes clear, there isn’t a single aspect of our daily lives that isn’t affected by climate change.

Perhaps one of the reasons there is so little investment in adaptation is the lack of financial incentives. Unlike a wind farm, for example, that can earn a steady return for investors, the monetary benefits of adaptation are less straightforward. Investing in resilience protects businesses and communities from devastating losses, so it must be measured in the lives saved and businesses that remain open. We are only now learning how to quantify these benefits to communities. Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, for example, calculated that projects to reduce wind and water damage avoided $81 million in losses when Hurricane Matthew struck in 2016, while costing only $19 million to carry out. The projects included raising buildings, improving drainage, and buying and demolishing properties in vulnerable areas.

That is why leadership, particularly from city governments like Miami’s, is so important in driving investment in adaptation. After Hurricane Irma in September 2017 — one of the costliest in United States history, leaving a $50 billion trail of destruction — there was both a moral and a fiscal obligation to act. That’s why two months later, Miami voters approved the $400 million Miami Forever Bond.