Kiribati, a tiny island nation south of Hawaii, is facing a mounting threat from climate change. President Anote Tong is apparently seriously considering putting all 100,000 of Kiribati's people onto a manmade floating island.
At a meeting of Pacific Island governments last week, Tong said he was looking at a number of options to save his people from the rising tides, including manmade floating islands.
Quoted in The Guardian, President Tong said, "If you're faced with the option of being submerged, with your family, would you jump on an oil rig like that? And [I] think the answer is 'yes'."
John Vidal of The Guardian uses the Kiribati proposal as a jumping-off point to look at several manmade islands around the world, and also a couple of floating island designs such as Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut's "Lilypad" concept and Bangkok architects S+PBA "floating wetropolis."
Read the full story: Artificial island could be solution for rising Pacific sea levels
When the Waters Are Rising…
Kiribati’s former president Anote Tong faces climate change’s implications head on and see hope, even as islands become an early warning system for the international community.
Relocating An Entire Country To Escape Climate Change
You think the preparations your coastal town are considering making to accommodate rising seal levels are onerous? Well read about the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, who are considering the need to move their entire populace to Fiji.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority