As climate change accelerates coastal erosion across the continent, officials everywhere look to San Francisco to see how it will stem the tide, Felicity Barringer reports.
On San Francisco's 3.5-mile-long Ocean Beach, the very same waves that beckon tourists and surfers to the West Coast are slowly chipping the shore away. While erosion "is a perennial issue for beachfront communities," Ocean Beach is especially sensitive: unabated, the encroaching waves threaten to destroy critical infrastructure, including the Great Highway, a wastewater treatment plant, and a 14-foot-wide stormdrain pipe.
It may take some time, but the consequences are expected to be severe, and worsened by rising sea levels due to climate change. "Researchers warned in two new studies that severe coastal flooding could occur regularly in the United States by the middle of the century and that California would be among the states most affected," Barringer notes.
For officials in San Francisco, the options are limited: either reinforce the beach with walls and riprap, build it back up with more sand, or retreat altogether. Stakeholders are divided over these solutions, with each costing on the order of tens of millions of dollars. But a study by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association "projects that sea-level rise there could impose costs of more than $650 million by 2100 if nothing is done."
Barringer summarizes a report by economists at San Francisco State University, writing that "Communities can either plan for the long term or improvise, storm by storm, until ad hoc solutions are inadequate."
FULL STORY: Both Coasts Watch Closely as San Francisco Faces Erosion

Redesigning Streets for Livability: A Global View
An excerpt from the introduction of the recent book, “Streets For All: 50 Strategies for Shaping Resilient Cities,” edited by Vinayak Bharne and Shyam Khandekar.

Bend Eliminates Parking Minimums
The city is complying with an Oregon state mandate that some cities have challenged in court.

Scottsdale Cuts Water Supply to Nearby Suburb
The city claims it has no responsibility to provide water to the unincorporated Maricopa County community.

How To Prevent ‘Green Gentrification:’ Lessons from the BeltLine
For one author, the key is focusing on affordable housing from the start.

Push and Pull: The Link Between Walkability and Affordability
The increased demand for walkable urban spaces could make them more and more exclusionary if cities don’t pursue policies to limit displacement and boost affordability.

El Paso Freeway Cap Linked to Road Expansion
A deck reconnecting neighborhoods divided by the interstate is part of a controversial freeway expansion proposal.
Town of Reading
Meridian Consultants
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Piedmont, CA
City of Morganton
St. Louis County, MO
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.