Solution

Seawall Retrofits & Flood Barriers

This solution addresses addressing sea-level rise, storm surge, and flood risk in Miami Beach, Florida & Norfolk, Virginia for city, state and federal governments, residents

Problem Description

Coastal communities and low-lying islands around the world are struggling to upgrade or replace their coastal defenses to protect against increasing risks of tidal flooding and coastal erosion, while addressing long-term sea-level rise and the threat of more severe storm surges. Many seawall systems and coastal properties are privately owned, and cities need innovative ways to motivate coordinated private actions to maximize the resilience benefits of new infrastructure investments and avoid piecemeal solutions that undermine a region’s overall system resilience.

Building Blocks

Story

Given the already measurable sea-level rise and anticipated increases in storm frequency and intensity, coastal communities and low-lying islands around the world are struggling to upgrade or replace their existing seawalls and coastal defense systems. The engineering solutions developed through the RE.invest Initiative range from self-deploying flood barriers to new seawall systems that integrate below-ground barrier systems to manage subsurface hydrological flows. The proposed solutions were designed to either add square footage to waterfront properties to generate new property tax revenue, and/or create insurance benefits for waterfront property owners and those further inland by limiting erosion, property loss, and flood and storm related risks and damages.

Resources

Contributed By

Elle Hempen, re:focus partners

Solution Stage

One of the 7 stages of an innovation. Learn more

STAGE	SPECIALIST SKILLS REQUIRED	EXAMPLE ACTIVITIES	RISK LEVEL AND HANDLING	FINANCE REQUIRED	KINDS OF EVIDENCE GENERATED	GOAL
Generating ideas2	Ideation and facilitation of creative thinking	Creativity methods Design tools Crowdsourcing Open innovation Awards and rewards Challenge prizes	High failure rate should be an explicit expectation Visible senior leadership essential HIGH	Usually grants, occassionally convertible LOW	A clear account of change or likely causation, supported – but not overly constrained – by evidence	An idea or set of ideas to develop and test

Submitted By

Elle Hempen