Urban planning needs rethink as climate change looms

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, floods and hurricanes: global warming means urban planners need to rethink how and where to build cities, water experts warned at a conference in Stockholm this week.

Almost 80 percent of the world’s population lives less than 50 kilometers (30 miles) from a coastline, a jarring fact given that one of the effects of global warming is rising sea levels, according to the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).


…According to SIWI, “climate change combined with continuing population growth and expanding urban centres presents a recipe for disaster.”

Kuylenstierna suggested one measure would be to “move people from low-lying areas who live close to the rivers, close to the seas.”

“These are attractive areas but maybe we have to finally understand we cannot only work against nature,” he added.

AFP