The researchers used satellite images, mapping records, in-situ validations on the ground, and public questionnaires to assess the rapid increase in climate vulnerabilities. The published paper explains how filling in waterways reduces coastal cities’ ability to mitigate climate extremes. Traditionally, canals would cool the city climate, and in the process of flowing out to sea, deposit sediment on the coast that would create a natural bulwark against erosion and storm surges. Without these ancient waterways depositing new sediment on the coastlines, Alexandria’s coasts are increasingly depleted of these natural barriers against sea-level rise and increasing storm surges. These developments in port cities like Alexandria accelerate coastal degradation and increases the risks associated with climate extremes.
Udo Weilacher believes that filling waterways with landfill has another far-reaching impact: decreasing the public’s sensitivity to their situated proximity to the coast and hydroclimate vulnerabilities. “When you take out the waterways, people will not feel rooted in their landscape anymore, and they lose their cultural connection to both the Nile and the Mediterranean Sea,” says Weilacher.
More information:
Chair of Landscape Architecture and Transformation
Article in Cities: Waterways transformation in the vulnerable port city of Alexandria
New study warns against major climate change vulnerabilities in North African Ports Cities
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