Urban Responses to Sea Level Rise

This seminar taught by faculty from Design, Law and Engineering, will explore various strategies of urban adaptation to climate change with a focus on the challenge that global sea level rise poses for the Boston metropolitan area. Students will be exposed to a range of issues including: the underlying science of climate change as it applies to projections of sea level rise and storm intensity and frequency; the engineering and infrastructure that currently protects cities around the world from flooding, including examples from London, the Netherlands, New Orleans and Venice; planning issues associated with building large infrastructure in urban areas; the governance of urban interventions, and the interplay between city, state and federal regulations; and the capacity to respond to disasters following a large flooding event. The class will meet for two hours per week, with additional time devoted to group projects on different components of a strategy to improve the resilience of the Boston area.