Rising sea level is forcing the city of Miami Beach to plan for and implement measures to save infrastructure and mitigate flooding.
The city is already experiencing the impact of fair weather flooding during full-moon high tides when salt water seeps into storm drains and onto streets and sidewalks. Miami has the greatest total value of real estate assets exposed to flooding of any city in the world—more than $400 billion.
Two large pumping stations have already gone online, a move that has alleviated flooding in one part of Miami Beach. The city’s engineer wants to raise the lowest-lying streets on the west side of the island. Once they’re two feet higher, streets and sidewalks in many places will loom above the doorways of existing buildings, pouring water into them when it rains.
In the long run these measures will be unable to prevent the inevitable, according to climatologists. Before the turn of the century, the most pessimistic forecasters say that Miami and surrounding Dade County will be nothing more than an archipelago similar to the present day Florida Keys. At that point, the Keys will be fully submerged, experts predict.
Related Stories
Smart Buildings | May 21, 2015
Resiliency and climate change: Dual perspectives from designers at HDR
Two geographies, two perspectives, one conclusion: from Minnesota to Miami, resiliency matters, write HDR's Bob Beduhn and Lynette Cardoch.
Smart Buildings | May 1, 2015
FEMA to require states to evaluate risks posed by climate change
The aim is for states to do a better job planning for natural disasters they are likely to face in a warming world.
Smart Buildings | Jan 7, 2015
NIBS report: Small commercial buildings offer huge energy efficiency retrofit opportunities
The report identifies several barriers to investment in such retrofits, such as the costs and complexity associated with relatively small loan sizes, and issues many small-building owners have in understanding and trusting predicted retrofit outcomes.
Smart Buildings | Jan 7, 2015
Best practices for urban infill development: Embrace the region's character, master the pedestrian experience
If an urban building isn’t grounded in the local region’s character, it will end up feeling generic and out-of-place. To do urban infill the right way, it’s essential to slow down and pay proper attention to the context of an urban environment, writes GS&P's Joe Bucher.
BIM and Information Technology | Dec 28, 2014
The Big Data revolution: How data-driven design is transforming project planning
There are literally hundreds of applications for deep analytics in planning and design projects, not to mention the many benefits for construction teams, building owners, and facility managers. We profile some early successful applications.
Smart Buildings | Dec 3, 2014
Arup research explores urban infrastructure design in 2050
The report projects a future where highways will be made from self-healing, glow-in-the-dark materials and will be governed by sophisticated technologies that communicate with cars, road infrastructure, and GPS systems.
Smart Buildings | Oct 30, 2014
Energy Department pledges $9 million for energy efficiency improvements on commercial buildings
The U.S. Dept. of Energy will spend $9 million to encourage investments in energy-saving technologies that can be tested and deployed in offices, shops, restaurants, hospitals, hotels and other types of commercial buildings.
Smart Buildings | Oct 29, 2014
SCAPE’s 'living breakwaters' resiliency development wins 2014 Buckminster Fuller Challenge
New York-based landscape architecture firm SCAPE won the Buckminster Fuller Institute’s 2014 Fuller Challenge, billed as socially responsible design’s highest award.
Smart Buildings | Jun 8, 2014
Big Data: How one city took control of its facility assets with data
Over the past few years, Buffalo has developed a cutting-edge facility management program to ensure it's utilizing its facilities and operations as efficiently, effectively, and sustainably as possible.
Smart Buildings | May 19, 2014
New York should forget about surge barriers for most cost-effective resiliency plan, say researchers
Massive storm surge barriers would be too costly for the potential benefit to protect New York City from violent storms like Hurricane Sandy, researchers say.
