Coastal Processes, Hazards, and Society

Summary and Final Tasks

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Summary and Final Tasks

Summary

In Module 10, you learned how smart building can help reduce the vulnerability of coastal populations exposed to increasing threats due to growth and global climate change. In case studies, the smart building of early settlers, cities, and communities was shown, where smart building methods included settling on natural levees, artificial mounds, and building floating cities. In recent times, the increasing coastal populations and economies have required more extensive protection works. The "Deltaworks" in the Netherlands protect the mostly-below-sea-level country from floods with massive engineering structures; however, later designs were altered to protect the vital estuarine habitat. Settlement in New Orleans was originally concentrated along the relative high-ground of natural levees; with advances in pumping technology, former backswamp areas could be settled, setting the stage for the Hurricane Katrina levee failures and flooding disaster. "Building with Nature" is a culmination of smart building principles, incorporating natural coastal processes and soft stabilization principles to reduce flooding risk, while enhancing recreation and ecology. As made clear in the assessments, smart building is often characterized by thoughtful development. If development doesn't create new risks, new risk mitigation measures will not be required.

Reminder - Complete all of the Module 10 tasks!

You have reached the end of Module 10! Double-check the Module 10 Roadmap to make sure you have completed all of the activities listed there before you begin Module 11.

References and Further Reading