All levels of government need to act to cope with climate-driven flooding and sea level rise

The latest National Climate Assessment highlights the need for local, state, and federal governments to adopt policies to mitigate the effects of climate-driven flooding and sea level rise, according to a policy expert with the National Resources Defense Council.

“In less time than it takes to pay off a 30-year mortgage, U.S. coastlines will see 12-20 inches of sea level rise on average, with areas like the Western Gulf of Mexico facing up to 27 inches by 2050,” writes Rob Moore. To cope with the new reality, governments at all levels need to take two main courses of action.

First, they should move to curtail development in coastal areas and floodplains. They must also “make relocation assistance more timely, equitable, and easier to secure for people who need to move to higher ground.

“Today, states and local governments do not adopt building or zoning codes that take into account how sea-level rise or flooding will affect development in the future. Only about one-third of states and local governments have even adopted building codes that incorporate basic flood resilience features, according to FEMA.”

Architectural concrete as we know it today was invented in the 19th century. It reached new heights in the U.S. after World War II when mid-century modernism was in vogue, following in the footsteps of a European aesthetic that expressed structure and permanent surfaces through this exposed material. Concrete was treated as a monolithic miracle, waterproof and structurally and visually versatile.

IMAGE_1_Norshield_high securitywindows_ and_doors

Norshield Products Fortify Critical NYC Infrastructure

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.

Blast Hazard Mitigation: Building Openings for Greater Safety and Security

Microgrids can draw power from a variety of sources. Image: Courtesy of Jacobs Engineering

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Resilience is what makes microgrids attractive as back-up energy controls

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Total steel project performance

This instructor-led video course discusses actual project scenarios where collaborative steel joist and deck design have reduced total-project costs. In an era when incomplete structural drawings are a growing concern for our industry, the course reveals hidden costs and risks that can be avoided.

Resiliency | Oct 19, 2021

Achieving resiliency through integrated design

Planning for and responding to the effects of adverse shocks and stresses is typically what architects and engineers have always thought of as good standard design practices.