daptation more, one of the easy answers is ‘why don’t people just move?’” says Boone. “For one, if you had a map showing all the places affected by sea level rise or flooding from a 100-year storm, people would be amazed and horrified by how many millions would have to relocate. But also, place attachment is important. Specific, local cultural context is important. It’s not just a technical exercise of deploying the latest infrastructure. It’s about people being able to express why places matter to them and designers being creative to adapt not just the physical place, but adapt in a way that fits the way people see their community.”
Josh Cohen is a freelance writer in Seattle. His work has also appeared in The Guardian, The Nation, Pacific Standard and Vice.