Why Climate Adaptation Engineers Need to Understand Social Science

03/12/21

“Why do climate adaptation engineers need to understand social science?”

Climate adaptation engineers are going to be a core part of building resilience to climate change. However, physical infrastructure does not operate in a social and cultural vacuum. The way it is designed and maintained impacts everyone around it. Failure to understand this will only bring maladaptation to the surrounding community, whether it be river flood barriers leading to water crashing downstream or seawalls choking off fisherman from obtaining their catch. By being aware of how engineering work designed without community input fails to meet design objectives, these problems can be avoided. This is Why Climate Adaptation Engineers Need to Understand Social Science.