Applying Machine Learning to Assess Florida's Climate-Driven Real Estate Risk (part1)

Florida's short-lived climate change czar, Chief Resilience Officer Julia Nesheiwat, set a clear priority for the state: Protect the real estate market. Nesheiwat's [unpublished] January 2020 report is loaded with proposals aimed to keep Florida's most important industry, real estate, high and dry. Her plan proposes stricter building codes, but also more controversial measures, such as disclosing flood risks to home buyers, providing state-sponsored home buyouts, and requiring vulnerability studies for cities and counties. "Florida's coastal communities and regions do not have time to waste and need a partner at the highest level to help manage and prepare against impending threats," wrote Nesheiwat, who took a job with the Department of Homeland Security after six months in Florida. A case study by McKinsey echoed Nesheiwat's dire projections for much of the state, including the Florida Keys, but also many coastal areas far North of Atlantis [formerly South-Florida].