Miami in the Anthropocene

The concept of the Anthropocene—the epoch where human activity fundamentally altered Earth’s systems—has dramatically reshaped how we think about urban planning and design, particularly in cities facing existential climate threats like Miami. In Stephanie Wakefield’s book “Miami and the Anthropocene: Rising Seas and Urban Resilience,” she explores how different “imaginaries” of Miami’s future are competing for dominance, and how these visions directly influence the infrastructure and policies being implemented today.

In our latest podcast episode, Wakefield introduces us to the concept of “imaginaries” not as fantasies but as powerful frameworks that structure how we envision urban futures. These imaginaries circulate through media, academic publications, planning documents, and visualizations—becoming reinforced and eventually influencing concrete policy decisions. The transformation of Miami into “sea level rise ground zero” represents one such powerful imaginary that barely existed fifteen years ago but now dominates much of the conversation around the city’s future. Competing with this vision is the newer imaginary of Miami as a “crypto capital” or “new Silicon Valley”—visions that push back against the narrative of inevitable submersion.

What makes Wakefield’s analysis particularly compelling is her willingness to challenge conventional assumptions in urban planning discourse. Rather than automatically privileging “bottom-up” approaches as inherently superior to “top-down” planning, she examines the actual transformative potential of various proposals regardless of their source. She notes that some of the most ambitious and transformative visions for Miami’s future have come from larger governmental or corporate entities, while some grassroots approaches focus more narrowly on survival and disaster recovery rather than reimagining urban life.

One of the more interesting concepts Wakefield introduces is “backloop urbanization,” borrowed from resilience ecology. The backloop represents a phase of release, disruption, reorganization, and renewal after a system has reached maturity—like a forest fire clearing the way for new growth. Wakefield suggests we’re living in a civilizational backloop—a time of extreme transformation where previously stable categories and systems are being unmade. Cities must now adapt not just to specific disasters but to ongoing cascading changes across environmental, technological, political, and social domains.

The most radical imaginaries discussed involve completely transforming Miami’s urban form—bulldozing existing development to create a network of elevated islands connected by bridges, powered by local energy generation, and defended by new infrastructure. While such proposals might seem fantastical or even destructive, Wakefield argues they represent a necessary experimental approach to urbanism in the Anthropocene era. Rather than merely elevating roads or building seawalls to preserve the status quo, these visions acknowledge that entirely new forms of urban life might be required.

Wakefield also explores the fascinating concept of “anthropocenic infrastructural nature”—the reimagining of natural systems like oyster reefs or the Everglades as infrastructure that can be designed, restored, and harnessed to protect urban settlements. This represents a profound philosophical shift away from seeing nature as external to the city, instead recognizing the potential for living systems to provide crucial services like storm surge protection or freshwater preservation.

The book ultimately argues for an experimental, future-oriented approach to urban planning—what Wakefield calls “Anthropocene urban theory and practice.” She suggests we need to shed outdated conceptual frameworks from previous centuries and develop new ways of thinking that respond directly to our transformed present and uncertain future. This includes a willingness to engage in “urbicide”—strategically dismantling certain urban forms to create space for new possibilities, much like a controlled burn in forest management.

As we face unprecedented challenges in our cities—from climate change to technological disruption to political upheaval—Wakefield’s call for a more imaginative, experimental approach to urban planning offers a compelling alternative to business-as-usual. Rather than merely trying to preserve existing urban forms through resilience measures, perhaps the Anthropocene demands we fundamentally reimagine what cities can be.

Listen Now