While municipalities in Canada work on adapting to a changing climate and rising tides, it is important to take into consideration lessons learned from international jurisdictions, where many urban centres have already put in place projects and initiatives to address their coastal risks.
Webinars are one way to learn new information and be inspired by others. I recently listened to a 2015 webinar lead by Julie Wormser, who was at the time the Executive Director of Boston Harbour Now. Her presentation outlines a report published by the group called Preparing for the Rising Tide (PDF) which looks at flood-prone areas in Boston, encourages residents and businesses to identify their vulnerabilities and take action to become more resilient.
Living with water in mind is important for the city of Boston -- rising sea levels can leave many parts of Boston permanently under water. Today, major flooding is generally the result of the perfect confluence of events, including a “wicked high tide” paired with a maximum storm surge. While Wormser notes that the chances of this happening any year are “vanishingly small”, this ”perfect storm” did happen to New York during Hurricane Sandy. Boston is conscious of coastal risks, and as a result the city is preparing for future climate change and rising sea levels.
Here are some of the takeaways from Wormser's presentation about Boston:
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Phase plans over time. This means designing and building structures that are adapted to today’s flooding hazards, and can be cheaply modified for tomorrow’s conditions.
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Double Duty solutions. “Preventing flood damage will cost money. Make it count by solving other problems at the same time” says Wormser. To illustrate, she describes an engineered canal in Seoul, Korea. In dry season, it is a walkway where passersby can enjoy a well managed green space. In rainy season, the canal's design ensures there is space for excess water to travel, while keeping the streets dry.
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Design for resilience. Wormser uses the example of an innovative Rhode Island office design. The ground floor of the building acts as meeting rooms and delivery docks, built with stunt glass and stunt bricks. In the event of a massive storm surge, the glass and bricks will break away, allowing the water to flow under the top three floors (supported by columns), leaving the rest of the building standing.
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Build community resilience. Building community resilience must go hand-in-hand with a stronger built environment. Wormser outlines a United Kingdom strategy called “Village Agents”: a program where residents look in on their elderly neighbours, ensuring they are cared for. The government discovered after a major flooding incident, village agents took initiativeto ensure the elderly in their community were safe during all stages of flood response - an event outside their responsibility.
Julie Wormser reminds us that “living with water favours resilience, not resistance” and it is “time to wrap heads around adaptation over time”. This does not mean adapting once, but instead, constantly considering how to build flexibility and resilience into our planning, design and within our communities as our external environment changes.
Listen to Julie Wormser’s webinar.
Sea level rise impacts in Boston. This map shows how sea level could affect Boston given 4°C vs. 2°C global temperature increases. Source: Climate Central