What do Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Intuit and many other tech companies in have in common? Their locations next o the San Francisco Bay could be underwater within 50 years as sea levels rise. The latest idea is a "Golden Gate Barrage".
Despite carbon-emission cutting efforts that are being made around the globe, “climate scientists say some level of anthropogenic warming and sea level rise is now irreversible, and likely to go on for thousands of years.” Many coastal cities have begun to contemplate various innovative engineering feats to deal with such “irreversible” impacts, one of which being the Golden Gate Barrage in San Francisco.
“A ‘Barrage’ is the technical term for a barrier across a waterway. The Golden Gate Barrage, a massive system of dams, locks, and pumps, would be one of the largest and costliest works in the history of civil engineering.”
According to a 2009 study by the Pacific Institute, an environmental think tank in Oakland, CA, “a sea level rise of 1.4 meters would cause $100 billion in property damage along the California coast (in 2000 dollars), with the vast majority of this damage--$62 billion—occurring along the San Francisco Bay coastline,” not including the damage done to public infrastructure. Current earthen levee barriers aren’t high enough to even prevent present-day storm surges, let alone those caused by the predicted 18-inch sea level rise by 2050.
While cities continue to evaluate the cost and environmental impacts of these new engineering systems, it will become increasingly important for local, state, and federal authorities to develop ideas that will "spread the costs evenly, promote equitable development, and preserve the [area’s] natural beauty."
FULL STORY: Sea Level Rise: Time for a Barrage of New Ideas
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
The Paradox of American Housing
How the tension between housing as an asset and as an essential good keeps the supply inadequate and costs high.
Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities
The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.
Undoing Biden's EV Rule
The partisan divide over how government should reduce greenhouse gas emissions was on full display after the Biden administration finalized its emissions standards rule for light and medium duty vehicles on March 20.
Boston Moves Zoning Reform Forward
The ‘Squares + Streets’ plan creates form-based zoning templates for neighborhoods that promote mixed use and denser housing near transit.
Anchorage Leaders Debate Zoning Reform Plan
Last year, the city produced the fewest new housing units in a decade.
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.