Long-term sustainable coastal development needs to be high on the political agenda, in order to prevent disastrous climate impacts. Image source: Shutterstock (#706152568) pictures downtown Houston after hurricane Harvey.
The first impulse after natural disasters like the recent hurricanes is to rebuild what once was, but especially in coastal cities such as Houston, that approach is not future-oriented. “Houston’s approach is similar to other cities in that it hasn’t looked into the future and taken the risks seriously. Unfortunately we are seeing the ramifications of that.”
Storms are only getting worse, but Houston could, for example, learn from New Orleans, which took lessons from the Netherlands. After Katrina, the city built seven rain gardens to absorb standing water and plans to spend $220 million creating new green areas where rain water can collect rather than flood the streets, embracing their relationship with the water in a hard-to-sustain environment.
If cities are going to survive, planning forward has to valued more than it is right now.
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