Sink or float? Floating homes could make coastal communities resilient to climate risks

Climate change is becoming increasingly prevalent and with it, flooding from rising sea levels is becoming a harsh reality for many coastal communities across the globe. Sea level rise causes flooding during high tide, larger storm surges during tropical storms, and coastal erosion. Due to the many impacts of rising sea levels, climate migrations are uprooting marginalized people from their homes and forcing them to move inland. 

By 2100, over 410 million people across the globe could be impacted by sea level rise. Coastal communities are turning toward futuristic climate solutions like floating homes. 

Floating homes have been around for hundreds of years — the Uros people of Peru were known to settle on artificial islands made from roots and reeds on Lake Titicaca. Even though the idea is old, the technology is new. There are a few contemporary methods of how to live on the water.

“By 2100, over 410 million people across the globe could be impacted by sea level rise. Coastal communities are turning toward futuristic climate solutions like floating homes.”

The first involves dredging the seafloor, a process that removes sediment from the seafloor and deposits it in another location on the sea bed, usually filling in a lagoon or covering a coral reef to create new man-made land. Dredged sand, clay, rock, or cement are all used to create new land. This reclaimed land can be used for various types of infrastructure like: resorts, residential buildings, airports, or as protection from sea level rise. Reclaimed land can be found in many parts of the world like: Pearl Island, Doha, Eko Atlantic in Lagos, and even Boston’s Back Bay.

The second method, known as amphibious homes, involves a house that is anchored to the ground and equipped with a buoyancy system making it ideal for shorelines, rivers, floodplains and city harbors. The buoyancy system helps houses rise and fall with the tide and seasonal floods.

The final method, known as floating cities, are premade and impermeable structures that are anchored to the sea floor using artificial reefs or interlocking modular systems. A Dutch developer is currently building the first ever floating city in the Maldives. This city is planned to house about 20,000 people and include shops, schools, and residences.

There are a few things to take into consideration when deciding what method to use when building a floating city. Land reclamation can cause severe damage to aquatic ecosystems and even hinder natural barriers to storm surges and erosion. Mangroves and wetlands can be destroyed by seabed dredging which can also cause the release of toxic compounds. Natural wind, evaporation, sunlight and heat patterns can be changed due to amphibious homes and floating cities. Along with harming the environment, land reclamation can be detrimental to low-income people.

Reclaiming land can cause severe flooding in other parts of coastal communities. The flooding can especially affect low-income people who struggle to recover from flood damage. The best way to mitigate these damages is a collaboration between local governments, environmental agencies and stakeholders like local residents, resort owners, private developers, and others. Governments need to set regulations to ensure people of all economic backgrounds can benefit from this contemporary solution to rising sea levels. Floating cities is one form of climate adaptation for coastal communities — however, there is still a long way to go before they can become a mainstream solution.