Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
New York City Is Building for a Future of Flooding
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603527/new-york-city-is-building-for-a-future-of-flooding/[font face=Serif][font size=5]New York City Is Building for a Future of Flooding[/font]
[font size=4]Coastal areas of the northeastern U.S. could experience huge increases in sea level by 2100, and its largest city is already preparing.[/font]
by Jamie Condliffe | January 30, 2017
[font size=3]As rising sea levels continue to pose a threat to coastal regions of the U.S., low-lying but densely populated regions like New York City are rethinking their approach to the built environment.
Last week, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report warned that coastal regions of the U.S. look set to face a future of steadily rising sea levels. In the worst cases, parts of America could experience sea-level rises of as much as eight feet by 2100. And, as NOAA oceanographer William Sweet told CBS News, it’s “not rising like water would in a bathtub ... in the Northeast (levels) are expected to rise faster.”
New York City in particular faces a serious conundrum: it is low-lying, yet home to incredibly expensive real estate. Since 2012, when it was devastated by superstorm Sandy, the city has been weighing ambitious plans for defending itself against further assaults from the sea—among them a large chain of artificial islands and a giant flood wall designed by the Danish architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group.
But the threat of rising tides is shaping change on a more basic level, too. The New York Times reports that the risk of future flooding is changing the way that buildings are designed in the city. Gone, for instance, are top-floor penthouses, replaced instead with emergency generators that won't get flooded—and can provide enough power for residents to remain in their apartment for as long as a week. Elsewhere, special drainage systems channel water away within foundations, and ground floors are being built with materials that can tolerate floods.
…[/font][/font]
[font size=4]Coastal areas of the northeastern U.S. could experience huge increases in sea level by 2100, and its largest city is already preparing.[/font]
by Jamie Condliffe | January 30, 2017
[font size=3]As rising sea levels continue to pose a threat to coastal regions of the U.S., low-lying but densely populated regions like New York City are rethinking their approach to the built environment.
Last week, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report warned that coastal regions of the U.S. look set to face a future of steadily rising sea levels. In the worst cases, parts of America could experience sea-level rises of as much as eight feet by 2100. And, as NOAA oceanographer William Sweet told CBS News, it’s “not rising like water would in a bathtub ... in the Northeast (levels) are expected to rise faster.”
New York City in particular faces a serious conundrum: it is low-lying, yet home to incredibly expensive real estate. Since 2012, when it was devastated by superstorm Sandy, the city has been weighing ambitious plans for defending itself against further assaults from the sea—among them a large chain of artificial islands and a giant flood wall designed by the Danish architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group.
But the threat of rising tides is shaping change on a more basic level, too. The New York Times reports that the risk of future flooding is changing the way that buildings are designed in the city. Gone, for instance, are top-floor penthouses, replaced instead with emergency generators that won't get flooded—and can provide enough power for residents to remain in their apartment for as long as a week. Elsewhere, special drainage systems channel water away within foundations, and ground floors are being built with materials that can tolerate floods.
…[/font][/font]
