Island Research

Looking at the historical maps of Canvey Island, it is interesting that the hand-drawn maps show the island is not one land mass but a series of smaller islands clustered together. A Dutch engineer connected these smaller islands in the 17th century to create a place for people to live.

The island existed for most of its contemporary life as an escape for Londoners looking to get away, but today functions more as a suburban retirement community.

As seen through demographic research, there is a high population of people over the age of 65, and of that population, nearly half live alone. It is also where people depend on cars to get around, and almost the entire island lives in single-family residences.

When thinking about the global climate crisis, it is difficult not to wonder whether the island’s imminent threat of being washed away by floods and rising sea levels do not resonate with the population of Canvey Island because of their age. If the average age of death is 80 (World Bank, 2022), then the reality is that a third of the population of Canvey Island will not see these significant climate threats as they will have passed on by the time anything happens.