It is sad to see architects collaborate with Urban Land Institute members to come up with such puny solutions to the climate change-related threat of sea level rise and storm surges (“Ideas for a Hub beset by rising seas in 2100,” Page A1, Sept. 30). The magnitude of the floodwaters is far greater than the solutions proposed in the report as summarized by the Globe, and the huge costs of the various ideas proposed would be mostly wiped out when a Sandy-like storm hits even now, well before the impact of sea level rise aggravates the problem.
The solution that needs to be studied in greater detail is the creation of a storm surge barrier akin to the concept proposed by Antonio Di Mambro in 1988. Di Mambro sketched out a barrier linking Deer Island with Long Island and Moon Island. This idea now needs expanding because there are other low-lying areas where storm surge floods could inundate Boston and adjacent communities.
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However, the principle of exploring a major storm surge barrier for the entire low-elevation communities in Greater Boston, although quite a bit larger than the Big Dig, would properly address the issue of categorically protecting billions and perhaps trillions of dollars of real estate in these communities.
The Urban Land Institute solutions instead demonstrate attempts to protect thousands of properties individually by raising their electrical and heating systems while exposing the ground and entry levels to flooding, which would make most typical buildings and homes unusable for a prolonged period. The costs associated with raising the utilities in thousands of buildings would shortly exceed the probable cost of a storm surge barrier along and beyond the Boston Harbor Islands.
Peter Papesch
Boston
The writer is co-chair of the Sustainability Education Committee of the Boston Society of Architects. His views here are his own.