Coalescing as a Region Around Sea Level Rise Response

Regional leaders approved a joint platform of nine actions and 21 tasks this June aimed at galvanizing the Bay Area into collaboration on sea level rise adaptation. Actions range from rooting planning in communities to raising more money for resilience and making the best local science and technical support accessible to all. The platform also “centers the most vulnerable” – 28,000 disadvantaged people in the future flood zone and wildlife in drowning wetlands. Leaders approving the platform commended the effort to address so many governance challenges and channel so many diverse opinions: “Corralling this to where it is today quite a feat,” said the Bay Area Council’s Adrian Covert; “This document gets the balance between local responsibility and the regional role of a catalyst and supporting force pretty darn right, ” added Marin County’s Jack Liebster; “What is a platform? It is something to stand on moving forward,” summed up Mark Lubell of UC Davis.
The platform walks “hand-in-hand” in terms of sea level rise adaptation with another major regional planning document responding to climate change, Plan Bay Area, according to BCDC’s Jessica Fain. While in the past, Plan Bay Area focused more on where to locate housing and transit hubs, the latest version from the region’s government planners (MTC-ABAG) raises some deeper questions about where we’re at: “Does the region strategically move from isolation and fear into a future that is more affordable, diverse, connected, healthy and vibrant for every Bay Area resident, or do we continue down a path of inequality?”
More
First published in RARA Review, July 2021.
Other Recent Posts
Citizen Methane
Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, leaks from abandoned wells across the country. Curtis Shuck has been finding them by hand, well by well. But finding the leaks is where satellites and citizens come in.
Imprisoned with Climate Change
Climate change has a disproportionate impact on incarcerated Americans. Juan Moreno Haines, one of 2.3 million prisoners in the US, describes his experience.
Artists Circle Confronts Climate Displacement and Just Recovery
The climate crisis in driving the displacement of people around the world. In the midst of the pandemic, an artists circle began developing new approaches to the issue.
Future-Proof Homes?
Oona Khan dreams about her home of the future, after losing her Malibu retreat to fire. Caught in a quagmire of legal battles with Southern California Edison, and surging construction costs, Khan is still waiting to start construction.
The Case for Climate Castles
As climate change throws more extreme events at us, isn’t it time to think bigger, bolder, further ahead? Six young architects draw climate-resilient castles.
Looking for Justice at the Nexus of Housing and Climate Policy
How housing is built and who it is built for are not only equity questions, but also climate mitigation questions. When people can afford to live near their jobs, their emissions from commuting go down.
Bittersweet Beach Outing to See King Tide
On a clear morning in January, a group of tide worshippers gathered at the Santa Monica Pier to “celebrate the ocean and build our climate community,” said Laurene von Klan.
Safer at School from Wildfire Smoke?
Research confirms the drastic impacts wildfire smoke has had on school learning. But 16 East Bay schools now have updated air filters and more actions are in the pipeline statewide.