When the Shoreline Fights Back
Sal de tu balcón
Coastal regions across the globe are vanishing. Rising sea levels and intensified storms, driven by human-induced climate change, are eroding beaches and swallowing entire stretches of land that once provided a buffer against the ocean’s power. Any rational response would involve retreating from the shoreline, reinforcing natural protections, and prioritizing sustainable infrastructure. Instead, the wealthy are doubling down. They are not just ignoring the warnings of geologists and environmental scientists; they are actively choosing to build right on the edge of collapse — securing the most privileged front-row seats to the apocalypse they themselves helped unleash (Hernández-Delgado, 2024; Griggs & Reguero, 2021).
This reckless expansion of luxury real estate is not just environmental negligence — it is class warfare. Wealthy investors and developers see coastal areas as a playground for profit, constructing multimillion-dollar mansions in regions that geologists have identified as unstable. This trend is evident from Miami Beach to the Maldives, from the French Riviera to Indonesia’s eroding shores, and in Puerto Rico’s rapidly vanishing coastline (Bonilla, 2020; Environmental Law Institute, 2024). As these structures rise, working-class and poor communities, many of whom have lived in coastal areas for generations, are forcibly displaced. Rising property values, aggressive gentrification, and legal loopholes work in favor of those who can afford to gamble with nature — while those who cannot are pushed inland, losing both their homes and their cultural ties to the coast (Bonilla, 2020).
Geology does not care about wealth. The land under these luxury developments is disappearing. Scientists have warned for years that many coastal regions worldwide are composed of unconsolidated sediments, highly vulnerable to erosion (Hernández-Delgado, 2024). Developers know this, but their concern is not long-term sustainability — it is short-term financial gain. Puerto Rico serves as a stark example, where coastal real estate developments have encroached on protected areas, causing irreversible ecological damage (Bonilla, 2020). When these mansions inevitably succumb to rising tides, their wealthy owners will simply move elsewhere, leaving behind shattered foundations and further ecological devastation. Meanwhile, the displaced communities will continue to bear the brunt of environmental collapse, with nowhere else to go (Environmental Law Institute, 2024).
There is no ambiguity in the outcome. The beaches will disappear. The mansions will fall. The wealthy will retreat to higher ground, while the poor are left behind to deal with the wreckage. This is not a natural disaster — it is a crisis engineered by greed, and it is happening in real time (Griggs & Reguero, 2021).
Suban pa’ cá pa’ que vean
References
Bonilla, Y. (2020). Aftershocks of Disaster: Puerto Rico Before and After the Storm. Haymarket Books.
Environmental Law Institute. (2024). Coastal Migration with Dignity. Environmental Law Reporter, 54(9), 10744–10755.
Griggs, G., & Reguero, B. G. (2021). Coastal Adaptation to Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise. Water, 13(16), 2151.
Hernández-Delgado, E. A. (2024). Coastal Restoration Challenges and Strategies for Small Island Developing States in the Face of Sea Level Rise and Climate Change. Coasts, 4(2), 235–286.
Bad Bunny, & Los Pleneros de la Cresta. (2024). Café con Ron [Song]. On Debí Tirar Más Fotos (Tainy & La Paciencia, Producers). Rimas Entertainment.
