Part 3: Growth Goes On

Paradise in Peril

By: Alan Halaly and Mariaguadalupe Vilchez

A new data analysis shows that population is surging on Florida’s barrier islands despite rising seas. Florida politics and policies are encouraging the growth.

Shifting Sands

By Abigail Hasebroock

Florida’s barrier islands have always been worth the risk to the hundreds of thousands of people living on them. After Hurricane Ian, will Southwest Florida’s islands ever be the same?