Skip to content

The Idea of Rising Sea Levels is Sinking In

Some light reading from the Christian Science Monitor before tomorrow’s rumored Office of Long-Term Planning & Sustainability conference:

The city’s Department of Environmental Protection, which manages the city’s freshwater supply and wastewater — 13,000 miles of pipe, total — formed a task force to look at the long-term effects of climate change. Among other things, the DEP was concerned by the damage storm surges might inflict on a city surrounded by water. Although city officials declined to discuss concrete solutions for this article saying they were still in the “assessment” phase, scientists foresee potential fixes ranging from raising key infrastructure and building dikes, to flood gates and temporary seals over tunnel entrances. One group proposes raisable flood barriers large enough to protect all of Manhattan Island.

And the winner of a recent competition for engineers and architects to envision New York City in 2106, ARO, doesn’t attempt to keep the water out. Rather, they envision building in, on and around it.

Photo of Jason Varone
Jason Varone battles the streets everyday during a 9 mile commute on his bicycle from downtown Brooklyn to the Upper East Side. In addition to his efforts on Streetsblog, he is an artist making work related to the environment and technology. Examples of his work can be found at www.varonearts.org.

Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.

More from Streetsblog USA

Are U.S. Cities Ready for the Robo-Taxi Revolution?

April 28, 2026

Tuesday’s Headlines Pay for Roads Whether We Use Them or Not

April 28, 2026

Urban Truth Collective: The One-Hour City Conspiracy

April 27, 2026

Monday’s Headlines Introduce the New Green New Deal

April 27, 2026

How Intercity Bus Lines Are Rebranding To Attract New Riders

April 27, 2026
See all posts