This moderated panel discussion focuses on sea-level rise and its effect on resilient coastal development. With sea levels rising and increasingly volatile weather events becoming routine occurrences, ecological design, development, and investment have become critically important. Despite the documented risks of “Living on the Edge,” 2.4 billion people live within 100 kilometers of the coast; 600 million people live in coastal areas that are less than 10 meters above sea level. Developers, designers, and scientists have begun to conceptualize physical strategies to address the issue, but the financial numbers are daunting. It is a complex challenge with many layers: shoreline reconstruction, population relocation, water and green systems integration, transportation, adaptive development approaches, relocation costs, insurance, and much, much more. Moderated by SWA Group’s Sean O’Malley and Hart Howerton’s Tim McCarthy, the discussion focuses on designing and developing our cities with resiliency. Sean and Tim are joined by Michael Samuelian, a planning, and development consultant, former President & CEO of the Trust for Governors Island (NY), and former Vice President of Related Cos; Dr. Benjamin Horton, Chair of the Asian School of the Environment at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the Principal Investigator of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, whose research uncovers fundamental knowledge about how sea level has changed in the past and how it may change in the future, including an array of implications for coastal regions; and Emilie Mazzacurati, founder and CEO of Four Twenty Seven (427mt.com), a leading publisher and provider of data, market intelligence and analysis related to physical climate and environmental risks.

This webinar was organized by ULI’s Global Exchange Council.