Abstract:
The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is increasing at an alarming rate; some experts believe that by 2050 the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will double.1 This prediction will bring significant changes to the world’s climate as it will drastically increase the global sea level within the next 100 years.2 Various experts have conflicting opinions, some expect the sea level rise will reach one meter while others believe it will reach four meters.3 Rising sea level will create chaos for many coastal cities in the world due to their low elevations. This presents an alarming issue, in which these coastal cities risk becoming permanently flooded and potentially submerged in the near future. Due to lack of contingency planning, many current coastal cities are unable to survive the rising sea level. Whilst situations may vary, these cities risk abandonment if they cannot defend themselves. Many will require external protection if it wants to stand a chance at surviving the rising sea. Instead of contesting the rising sea levels, cities should find ways to adapt to the changing environment. Many aquatic plants that grow in lakes and ponds grow from beneath the water and make their way to the surface where the leaves sit above the water line. This will be used to help create a new framework for the existing city which will enable the city to adapt to rising sea levels. This thesis will investigate how a coastal city can evolve and adapt to the extreme sea level rise. The project will be investigating methods of evolving current coastal cities into cities that are able to adapt to the extreme sea level rise. The evolved city needs to be resilient and become the first step towards a possible future where cities become hybrids of both the land and the sea.
