Land Reclamation for Housing: Caution in an Age of Climate Change
“Jersey to reclaim more land to support housing needs?” said the headline.
"LAND reclamation to support the Island’s future housing and planning needs cannot be ruled out in the long term, the Environment Minister has said, but the immediate focus will be on the ‘current land-base’. "(JEP)
When I heard that, I wondered what was going on, especially as climate change and rising sea levels mean that creating housing on reclaimed land could be very like building on flood plains – that is to say, unwise.
I was pleased to see that when you see what John Young actually says, he is well aware of the problems with
“It is pretty complex and is not just about reclaiming land, as we would need to look at our Shoreline Management Strategy. We know our south coast is vulnerable to flooding and rising sea levels. ‘We are looking, I think, at the long term. That will be a consideration beyond the ten years of this Island Plan. For now, it is time to look at opportunities that exist within the current land-base.”
Jonathan Watts, writing in the Guardian, notes that:
“Land that is currently home to 300 million people will flood at least once a year by 2050 unless carbon emissions are cut significantly and coastal defences strengthened, says the study, published in Nature Communications. This is far above the previous estimate of 80 million. The upward revision is based on a more sophisticated assessment of the topography of coastlines around the world.”
An example where past land reclamation is now proving problematic is Boston. The city is already feeling the pressure of climate change. In the three centuries following Boston’s founding in 1630, the city’s footprint increased by nearly 50 percent, with much of the land along the coastline and riverbanks filled to just above high tide.
A recent report by Steven Mufson notes that:
“Boston is raising streets, building berms and even requiring that new high-rise condominium developments on its harbor acquire “aqua fences” — portable metal barriers that can be dragged to the street and anchored to the pavement to deflect incoming waves.”
“A surging sea could wreak havoc in a place where half the city is built on low-lying landfill. Among the vulnerable spots are commercial piers, Logan International Airport, low-income neighborhoods, the South End, the New England Aquarium and pricey apartment buildings in the newly redeveloped Seaport area.”
“The effects are evident already; seawater at high tide has lapped up onto some streets even on days when the sun is shining.”
Scott Kulp, the lead author of the Nature study and a senior scientist at Climate Central warns that: ““As the tideline rises higher than the ground people call home, nations will increasingly confront questions about whether, how much and how long coastal defences can protect them.”
The literature suggests that land reclamation can provide a buffer against storm surges and rising sea levels by pushing back the coastline which would otherwise be flooded. But what you don’t want to do is to build housing on that.
“Jersey to reclaim more land to support housing needs?” said the headline.
"LAND reclamation to support the Island’s future housing and planning needs cannot be ruled out in the long term, the Environment Minister has said, but the immediate focus will be on the ‘current land-base’. "(JEP)
When I heard that, I wondered what was going on, especially as climate change and rising sea levels mean that creating housing on reclaimed land could be very like building on flood plains – that is to say, unwise.
I was pleased to see that when you see what John Young actually says, he is well aware of the problems with
“It is pretty complex and is not just about reclaiming land, as we would need to look at our Shoreline Management Strategy. We know our south coast is vulnerable to flooding and rising sea levels. ‘We are looking, I think, at the long term. That will be a consideration beyond the ten years of this Island Plan. For now, it is time to look at opportunities that exist within the current land-base.”
Jonathan Watts, writing in the Guardian, notes that:
“Land that is currently home to 300 million people will flood at least once a year by 2050 unless carbon emissions are cut significantly and coastal defences strengthened, says the study, published in Nature Communications. This is far above the previous estimate of 80 million. The upward revision is based on a more sophisticated assessment of the topography of coastlines around the world.”
An example where past land reclamation is now proving problematic is Boston. The city is already feeling the pressure of climate change. In the three centuries following Boston’s founding in 1630, the city’s footprint increased by nearly 50 percent, with much of the land along the coastline and riverbanks filled to just above high tide.
A recent report by Steven Mufson notes that:
“Boston is raising streets, building berms and even requiring that new high-rise condominium developments on its harbor acquire “aqua fences” — portable metal barriers that can be dragged to the street and anchored to the pavement to deflect incoming waves.”
“A surging sea could wreak havoc in a place where half the city is built on low-lying landfill. Among the vulnerable spots are commercial piers, Logan International Airport, low-income neighborhoods, the South End, the New England Aquarium and pricey apartment buildings in the newly redeveloped Seaport area.”
“The effects are evident already; seawater at high tide has lapped up onto some streets even on days when the sun is shining.”
Scott Kulp, the lead author of the Nature study and a senior scientist at Climate Central warns that: ““As the tideline rises higher than the ground people call home, nations will increasingly confront questions about whether, how much and how long coastal defences can protect them.”
The literature suggests that land reclamation can provide a buffer against storm surges and rising sea levels by pushing back the coastline which would otherwise be flooded. But what you don’t want to do is to build housing on that.
The headlines in the JEP, apparently prompted by suggestions of the public looking for new locations for housing, do not seem to address what is surely an obvious danger inherent in that strategy.
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