Project Statement

This book showcases innovative measures for combating flooding and sea level rise. It identifies the appropriate mixture of integrated, multi-scalar flood protection mechanisms to reduce flood impacts. Illustrative, global cases identify and catalogue practical and innovative structural, non-structural, and hybrid mechanisms to combat flooding and sea level rise. Alternative flood risk reduction mechanisms are extracted and analyzed to develop approaches to increase flood resilience which can be applied to help proctor new and protect existing communities. As a result of the information presented, a set of tools, typologies, and program options are categorized and described. A new design theory, the urban periculum, is then presented.

Project Narrative

Problem

In the past 21 years, 2.3 billion people were affected by floods, 242,000 deaths resulted from flooding, and floods accounted for 40% of the global total for weather-related disasters. The frequency and magnitude of flood events is increasing due to rising sea levels. Up to 4–8 inches of global sea level rise is projected by 2100, with coastal flooding also projected to more than double. Further, coastal areas have the highest population density in the US, with 14 of the nation’s 20 largest cities and 19 of the 20 most densely populated counties occupying the coast. It is important for those located in the floodplain or future floodplain and those responsible for land use, developmental, and population-related activities within these areas to strategically implement integrated constructed and green infrastructure-based flood risk reduction mechanisms to adequately protect threatened areas.

Methods/Process

This book assesses, illustrates, and presents innovative and practical worldwide measures for combating flooding and sea level rise. Thirty-eight contributors from 20 Universities and 8 landscape architecture offices present a series of illustrative global projects from the United States, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Japan, China, and the Netherlands and identify novel structural (engineered), non-structural (nature-based), and hybrid mechanisms (mixed) to combat sea level rise and flooding. Three categories, 18 classifications, and 72 examples of alternative flood risk reduction mechanisms are extracted and analyzed from each chapter to develop and explain a set of design-based typologies.

All case evaluations follow an identical framework to identify the design mechanisms to combat sea level rise and discuss 1) the problems within the geographic region, 2) sea level rise projections, 3) the design developed, 4) the flood mechanisms utilized, and 5) the impact/performance of the plan. The book is arranged into three parts. The first section provides the rationale for the book and current sea level rise projections globally, while discussing existing typical approaches to solving the issue. Section 2 presents the in-depth, global case studies. The final section extracts, organizes, and classifies the presented mechanisms, then defines, visualizes, and describes their primary characteristics and uses. Finally, the book presents a new theory: the urban periculum – a collection of areas that are at risk of flood hazards and sea level rise.

Applicability and Impact

The book describes a range of contexts and adaptation strategies that expand options for authorities beyond business-as-usual approaches such as vertical steel bulkhead walls and levees. It seeks to reclaim the power of water itself and look beyond engineered outcomes to conceive future landscapes that move beyond green vs gray and into new imaginative territories of design and empowerment. The book provides a comparative context for landscape architects to draw from to expand the problem-solving mix. It has rapidly become a highly influential resource for designers, a valuable collection of programmatic elements for developing mitigation plans, and a must-have for students, instructors, and professionals. ASLA designated it as a Top Book of 2022, stating that it creates a valuable toolkit that can help designers combat future climate change. As a result, the book is beneficial to both academics and practitioners related to multiple design professions.