Miami is facing one of the most acute housing affordability crisis in the country. As the population grows, housing costs have risen far faster than incomes. Miami’s geography also limits outward expansion: the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Everglades to the west leave little room to grow. With the region’s footprint largely fixed, accommodating new residents means rethinking how land within the city is used. Yet much of the area remains locked into low-density single-family zoning, restricting housing supply and widening the gap between demand and available homes.
This episode examines how these constraints drive rising prices and explores emerging approaches to expanding housing options. Ideas such as missing middle housing in suburban neighborhoods, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and concepts like inverse density seek to distribute housing more efficiently across the city. Another key strategy is organizing growth around city centers—places where housing, jobs, transit, and public life can cluster—reducing pressure on limited land while creating more accessible neighborhoods. The episode argues that addressing affordability will require rethinking long-standing assumptions about where and how housing can be built if Miami is to remain attainable for the people who live and work here.