Sea Levels Rise, Californians Seek Dutch Expertise

The rise of sea levels is an inevitable fact. This week, designers, planners, and engineers from the Netherlands and U.S. met to strategize on how the Bay area should deal with it.

1 minute read

September 22, 2009, 1:00 PM PDT

By Alek Miller


"Frustratingly little is known about how well protected the Bay Area is from a serious flood even now, according to the report. (Cities on the Bay are expected to prepare for a once-in-a-century flood, but the shores of the Netherlands are armored with flood gates and other equipment strong enough to withstand a once-in-10,000-year onslaught from the North Sea.)

While many of the Bay Area's most vulnerable and valuable areas are protected by federally certified levees, they were all built before planners became aware of how sea level rise would change the whole equation."

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 in San Jose Mercury News

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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