On Sea Level Rise

Abstract

While the severity of the climate crisis calls for a discussion on
transformative and potentially disruptive change, science, engineering,
design, governance and practice are currently too detached to
effectively contribute to such discussions.

The spatial manifestation of climate crisis rarely appeals to one’s
imagination. Yet, when reviewing the range of sea level rise projections
and their accelerated rate of change, it is clear that understanding
when and why to navigate between mitigation, adaptation and
transformation measures is essential for flourishing coastal communities
globally.

The Netherlands is one of those and has been characterised by a long
history of renowned flood risk and water management as well as spatial
planning. Facing the potential extreme scenarios of sea level rise, the
country now however struggles to include measures preparing for a shift
from incremental to the required transformative strategies.

This research project identifies the criticalities by means of a risk
matrix and stress maps as an initial act to introduce the Sea Level
Impact Knowledge Collect and its transdisciplinary Research by Design
approach to guide the discussion on transformative change and its
implementation in living labs.