How Great Lakes Cities Are Preparing for Climate Migration

Stroll along Cleveland’s Edgewater Pier on a summer evening, and you’ll hear Arabic, Spanish, and other languages wafting through the lake air. For decades, international immigrants have found a home in the city of Lake Erie.

But now, there’s an increasing chance that future waves of migrants — from Florida, Arizona, California, and beyond — could move here as extreme weather events caused by climate change in those regions prompt people to rethink where they want to live.

Hurricanes in Florida are leading to insurance companies fleeing the Sunshine State. In California, wildfires are resulting in urban devastation on a major scale. Last year, Phoenix, Arizona, experienced 21 consecutive days of record-breaking high temperatures.

By contrast, the highest temperature ever recorded in Detroit was 105 F, back in 1934.

With this in mind, some Great Lakes cities have been working to position themselves as so-called “climate havens.”

The term is anything if not controversial, but some urban leaders and planners around the Lakes see opportunity.