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SUMMER 2015
ISSUE 17
SEA LEVEL RISE THREATENS WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT NEW CONSTRUCTION WORTH BILLIONS COULD BE FLOODED WITHIN DECADES
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he Bay Area’s current waterfront building frenzy includes at least $21 billion in housing and commercial construction in low-lying areas that climate scientists say could flood by the end of the century. In examining approval processes for new buildings on the edge of San Francisco Bay, our team found that some cities are greenlighting waterfront development without planning for the long term or fully accounting for the future cost of reconfiguring large projects to resist flooding. In light of a new convergence in scientific projections — in which sea level rise could drive
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floodwaters during extreme storms as high as 8 feet above today’s high tide — some scientists and community activists are calling for reforms. That may not happen before all these new waterfront communities and office parks get built. Developers say they can raise the land, waterproof basements and build levees and seawalls much higher to protect residents and businesses. But critics say the burden of protecting new real estate is being passed on to the taxpayers of the next two or three generations. STORIES BEGIN ON PAGE B1
BAY AREA GOVERNMENTS STUDY THE PROBLEM, BUT FEW SET LIMITS ON DEVELOPMENT PAGE B2
section MAP SHOWS CONSTRUCTION AT RISK ACROSS BAY PAGES B4–B5 AS SCIENTIFIC PROJECTIONS GET BETTER, SERIOUS FLOODING SEEMS INEVITABLE PAGE B6 MISSION BAY PIONEERS: WORKING AND LIVING IN S.F.’S NEW FLOOD ZONES PAGE B6 FOUR WAYS TO GUARD AGAINST SEA LEVEL RISE PAGE B8 FORMIDABLE OBSTACLES TO BAYWIDE RESPONSE PAGE B8 PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTS ON THE COMING INUNDATION PAGES B1–B8 This page: Darker shades of blue show areas that could flood in a bad storm by the end of the century. Solid red boxes are actual or planned construction projects; thin red lines enclose neighborhoods where development is encouraged. For more details and a larger map of the bay, see pages B4–B5.
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RESEARCHERS FIND NATIVE BEES ARE BEST POLLINATORS FOR CITY GARDENS PAGE A3
TRANSIT OFFICIALS CLEAR WAY FOR LARGE, PRIVATELY FUNDED BIKE SHARE PROGRAM PAGE A6
STATE CLIMATE CHANGE RULES NOT LIVING UP TO EXPECTATIONS PAGE A4
ADVOCATES CLAIM NEW TIPLESS RESTAURANT APPROACH PAYS WORKERS MORE FAIRLY PAGE A7
TOOTH DECAY POSES MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM PAGE A5 A ROTATING COLLAGE SHOWCASES S.F. LANDMARKS, UNITES COMMUNITY PAGE A5
HOUSING PRICES SOAR DESPITE PACE OF RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION IN SOMA NEIGHBORHOOD PAGE A7
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