Dive summary:
- Having seen what Sandy did to parts of Boston's rival to the south—New York City—the public and private sectors are looking at how to keep up a renewed love affair with the city's waterfront while not closing their eyes to predictions from scientists that the ocean will be coming up 1 to 2 feet in the next 35 years.
- The private sector is looking at designs to protect either buildings, such as flood-resistant entrances, or their functions, such as having no patient activities on the first floor of the Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown and moving critical electrical components higher up in existing buildings in the Fan Pier development downtown.
- For its part, the city is studying risks and options with a special "Green Ribbon" commission and looking at revising building codes and perhaps mandating protective steps for existing residential and commercial properties.
From the article:
Indeed, had Sandy hit Boston at high tide last October instead of low tide, the group asserted, nearly 6 percent of Boston would have flooded, including much of downtown. ...
