"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Category: Engineering
How Earthquakes Lead to Housing Shortages
06/08/21
“How do earthquakes lead to housing shortages?”
Earthquakes cause damage to all buildings in its vicinity. Oftentimes these may collapse and become unusable. When this happens to housing, then the capacity for living spaces shrinks as well. This is How Earthquakes Lead to Housing Shortages.
How Cultural Solidarity Can Help Build Climate Resilience
06/07/21
“How can cultural solidarity help build climate resilience?”
When internal turmoil arises between ethnic groups, resources that can be dedicated towards building adaptation capacity are instead wasted. However, through building relations with each other, this can be solved and more energy can be used for productive means. This is How Cultural Solidarity Can Help Build Climate Resilience.
Why Legalizing Basement Dwellings in Apartments in Low Flood Risk Areas Could Assist With Climate Migration
06/06/21
“Why could legalizing basement dwellings in places with low flood risk be a boon for climate migration?”
Many cities ban basement dwellings in their zoning code. However, if legalized, the increased supply could vastly increase stock available for people to move in. While these are liabilities for places that are at risk for floods, places that are far from this will have no problem. This is Why Legalizing Basement Dwellings in Apartments in Low Flood Risk Areas Could Assist With Climate Migration.
Why Removing Car Roads Could Be a Smart Climate Resilience Strategy
06/04/21
“How can removing car roads be a smart climate resilience strategy?”
Car roads are made of non-porous cement that causes water to build up during floods. By removing car roads and converting it into nature-based material more suitable for walking, the water could be absorbed instead. This is Why Removing Car Roads Could Be a Smart Climate Resilience Strategy.
Bluelining
06/03/21
“How will the impact of increased flood risk on insurance further perpetuate segregation?”
In the middle of the 20th century, the U.S government forbade residents of certain neighborhoods (Specifically ones that Black Folk were forced to live in) to apply for a home mortgage. While this was later declared constitutionally illegal, the confluence of climate change and the private insurance markets may bring it back in an insidious new form. When updated floodmaps predict that new neighborhoods will become unsaveable, they may deny homeowners in those regions from receiving insurance coverage. This will turn the homes in this area into stranded assets that will be extremely difficult to sell and pose extreme financial liability. This new phenomena of Bluelining will only serve as a compounding factor for people living in flood-prone regions, which are already disproportionately made up of lower systemic caste communities. Flood risk prediction and insurance designers will need to take into consideration how their work will possibly harm the same people they should be seeking to serve.
How Governments Can Use Housing Swaps to Enable Managed Retreat
06/02/21
“How can governments use housing swaps to enable climate migration?”
The advent of climate change is going to make many areas of the world uninhabitable, making managed retreat necessary. However, people who have to move are going to face difficulty in finding a new place to live. Governments can make this process easier by compensating all individuals who have to move with a new place to live of equal worth. This will make people much more open to move in response to climate change. This is How Governments Can Use Housing Swaps to Enable Managed Retreat.
Water Storage Tanks
06/01/21
“How can we store water in a mechanical vessel?”
Water is one of the most important foundations of life on this planet. The industrialized world functions based on easy access to it, whether it be for drinking throughout the day or powering our factories. However, a natural source of water may not be nearby. So how can we provide a place to store it nearby? Well, we know that water can be easily placed in a metal container. So what if we were to build giant metal containers connected to pipes that we could easily draw and withdraw from? This is the idea behind Water Storage Tanks and is one of the most prevalent pieces of infrastructure in the world.
Inter-City Climate Adaptation Partnerships
05/30/21
“How can cities across the world partner up for climate adaptation work?”
Cities can be in completely different parts of the globe but have very similar climates and climate adaptation risks. These places can build climate adaptation capacity together more strongly if they were to work together and form Inter-City Climate Adaptation Partnerships. Whether it be between Dhaka and Rio, San Francisco and Sydney, or New York and London, great potential lies ahead.
Why COVID Can Be an Opportunity to Reimagine Our Cities
05/29/21
“How can COVID be an opportunity to reimagine our cities?”
Before COVID, many cities were designed to thrust people from their homes in the outer reaches to their workplaces in the center. But with the advent of the global pandemic, many began to understand the importance of local connection and having activities near their place of residence. Empty office spaces can be turned into government-subsidized housing. We can work to add more greenery, bring justice to systematically-excluded communities, and make our cities more people-focused. This is Why COVID Can Be an Opportunity to Reimagine Our Cities.
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