Two Miami researchers are urging city leaders to take a closer look at how skyscrapers are approved and monitored, warning that South Florida’s unstable coastal soil may pose long-term risks for high-rise buildings.
In a newly published paper, retired dental surgeon Jeffrey Dorfman and University of Miami engineering professor and former dean Jean-Pierre Bardet argue that Miami’s current permitting process does not adequately account for the engineering challenges of building on uneven layers of porous limestone and sand. As towers continue to grow taller and slimmer, they say more attention must be paid to the ground beneath them.
Their paper, Emerging Risks and Housing Affordability Policy in Miami High-Rises, was published in the Journal of Critical Infrastructure Policy. It raises concerns about how much high-rises may be sinking into Miami’s coastal subsoil and points to recent research showing that buildings on barrier islands such as Sunny Isles Beach and Surfside are subsiding faster than engineers had predicted.
According to Bardet and Dorfman, Miami’s geology makes the region especially vulnerable to foundation settlement — when buildings sink unevenly over time — which can create serious structural problems. They argue that the city should require more extensive geotechnical testing, deeper foundations for slender towers, and mandatory long-term monitoring systems.
The researchers are particularly concerned about neighborhoods like Miami Beach and Edgewater, where luxury condo towers have rapidly transformed the skyline over the last two decades. Dorfman, who lives in Edgewater, said he became interested in the issue after seeing increasingly tall and narrow buildings rise on small waterfront lots.
Their paper also criticizes Miami’s development approval process, noting that developers can currently pay into a public fund in exchange for permission to build additional stories, regardless of local soil conditions. Bardet and Dorfman argue that approvals should instead be tailored to the specific geological conditions of each site.
Among their recommendations:
- A temporary pause on new skyscraper approvals
- Independent engineering review panels for proposed towers
- Long-term monitoring requirements for high-rises
- A developer-funded reserve to cover structural liabilities over 40 years
They also criticized recent state legislation that reduced the period developers can be held liable for construction defects from 10 years to 7.
Bardet said his interest in the issue grew after reading research by fellow University of Miami professor Farzaneh Aziz Zanjani, whose 2024 study documented unexpected building movement in several South Florida coastal communities.
“We have discovered a problem,” Bardet said. “We want to find a solution, but the solution is not only technical.”
The two researchers say they hope their work sparks broader scientific research and policy discussions about the future of high-rise development in Miami.
Source: Miami Herald
