San Francisco International Airport lies on 5,171-acres of land on eight miles of shoreline along the west side of the San Francisco Bay. Protecting the property from sea-level rise is becoming a more challenging, and expensive, task.
"New sea-level rise projections have increased tenfold the cost to protect the San Francisco International Airport from flooding," reports Joshua Sabatini.
Since 2015, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has increased the budget for SFO's shoreline protection program from $58 million to $587.1 million. Interest to pay off the bonds that will fund the project will bring the total cost of the project to $1.5 billion.
"City officials attributed the increase to new sea-level rise estimates and guidelines issued by the State of California in a March 2018 report called 'Sea-Level Rise Guidance,'" according to Sabatini. As the budget has risen, so has the expected encroachment of water onto the shoreline surrounding the airport—from 11 inches to 36 inches.
The extra money will fund projects like the construction of a new shoreline protection system around the perimeter of the airport. The system will include "7.6 miles of new sheet pile walls at most of the reaches; new concrete walls at the San Bruno Channel and Millbrae Channel; and 2.7 miles of concrete wall on the Airport front side along Highway 101," according to the "Sea-Level Rise Guidance" report.
FULL STORY: Costs soar for shoreline protections as SFO plans for rising seas
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Orlando Pledges to Improve Walkability
A city report highlights successes and failures in building safer transportation infrastructure and reducing VMT in 2023.
New York Transit Agency Launches Performance Dashboard
The tool increases transparency about the agency’s performance on a variety of metrics.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
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
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.