1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:05,633 ♪♪ 2 00:00:05,666 --> 00:00:08,300 -If we understand how nature is trying to shape New York City, 3 00:00:08,333 --> 00:00:10,400 then maybe we can make New York City 4 00:00:10,433 --> 00:00:12,400 fit into the nature of the place 5 00:00:12,433 --> 00:00:14,933 and then, that way, make it possible to live in the city 6 00:00:14,966 --> 00:00:16,766 into the next 400 years 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,300 and maybe the 400 years after that. 8 00:00:20,333 --> 00:00:23,966 -From the sky, it's clear that New York City was boldly built 9 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:25,766 right to the water's edge. 10 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:29,500 It's a coastal city surrounded by water on all sides. 11 00:00:29,533 --> 00:00:32,500 ♪♪ 12 00:00:32,533 --> 00:00:36,066 Just a century ago, there was more cargo tonnage and people 13 00:00:36,100 --> 00:00:39,000 passing through this port than all other major harbors 14 00:00:39,033 --> 00:00:41,666 in the country combined. 15 00:00:41,700 --> 00:00:44,633 With 578 miles of coastline, 16 00:00:44,666 --> 00:00:48,766 all that water is now New York's greatest threat. 17 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,100 -The real challenge for us in the 21st century is, 18 00:00:51,133 --> 00:00:53,566 can we be as wise as we are smart? 19 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:55,766 We're so smart about so many things. 20 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,333 We're so clever and yet, somehow, 21 00:00:58,366 --> 00:01:01,133 when it actually comes to making hard decisions, 22 00:01:01,166 --> 00:01:03,300 the wise decisions based on what we know, 23 00:01:03,333 --> 00:01:06,800 we have trouble doing that. 24 00:01:06,833 --> 00:01:09,866 I don't know how many more examples nature needs to give us 25 00:01:09,900 --> 00:01:11,566 to do the right thing. 26 00:01:13,833 --> 00:01:15,300 -The world's great cities 27 00:01:15,333 --> 00:01:18,433 face threats they have never before encountered. 28 00:01:18,466 --> 00:01:19,833 New York... 29 00:01:19,866 --> 00:01:21,200 Tokyo... 30 00:01:21,233 --> 00:01:22,633 London... 31 00:01:22,666 --> 00:01:24,233 Miami... 32 00:01:24,266 --> 00:01:26,900 The threats come from the sea, 33 00:01:26,933 --> 00:01:30,100 from above and from below. 34 00:01:30,133 --> 00:01:33,233 These are the problems and their solutions... 35 00:01:33,266 --> 00:01:39,433 ♪♪ 36 00:01:39,466 --> 00:01:42,866 ...for when the water comes. 37 00:01:42,900 --> 00:01:47,833 [ Waves crashing ] 38 00:01:51,300 --> 00:01:53,600 -A Mayor of the City of New York 39 00:01:53,633 --> 00:01:55,966 has ordered a mandatory evacuation. 40 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,700 All residents are urged to comply 41 00:01:58,733 --> 00:02:01,933 with this evacuation request. 42 00:02:01,966 --> 00:02:07,500 -In 2012, superstorm Sandy catches New York by surprise. 43 00:02:07,533 --> 00:02:11,333 The city is flooded with 1.6 billion gallons of water 44 00:02:11,366 --> 00:02:14,433 containing raw and partially treated sewage. 45 00:02:14,466 --> 00:02:17,400 The storm surge, measuring over 13 feet, 46 00:02:17,433 --> 00:02:22,666 engulfs New York with over 700,000 tons of debris. 47 00:02:22,700 --> 00:02:26,600 It is the worst natural disaster in the city's history. 48 00:02:29,433 --> 00:02:32,033 Trever Holland is a resident and an attorney 49 00:02:32,066 --> 00:02:35,666 in a neighborhood called Two Bridges. 50 00:02:35,700 --> 00:02:37,500 -It's on the Lower East Side, 51 00:02:37,533 --> 00:02:39,600 and it's called Two Bridges because our neighborhood 52 00:02:39,633 --> 00:02:41,366 is located between the two bridges, 53 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,566 the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge. 54 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,033 -The median household income 55 00:02:46,066 --> 00:02:49,000 in this inner-city neighborhood of 38,000 people 56 00:02:49,033 --> 00:02:52,233 is just over $21,000. 57 00:02:52,266 --> 00:02:55,100 That's well under half of the average median income 58 00:02:55,133 --> 00:02:57,266 of New York City. -It's an affordable 59 00:02:57,300 --> 00:03:00,633 neighborhood, working-class individuals. 60 00:03:02,533 --> 00:03:04,566 We're in a very diverse neighborhood, 61 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:06,900 one of the most diverse in Manhattan. 62 00:03:06,933 --> 00:03:09,466 Different economic levels. Different races. 63 00:03:09,500 --> 00:03:11,233 Different creeds. Different religions. 64 00:03:11,266 --> 00:03:13,733 I mean, it's one of the reasons why I love living here. 65 00:03:13,766 --> 00:03:17,933 -Two Bridges is situated on New York's floodplain. 66 00:03:17,966 --> 00:03:20,466 At five to 10 feet above sea level, 67 00:03:20,500 --> 00:03:22,833 parts of it will be completely underwater 68 00:03:22,866 --> 00:03:25,066 if sea levels rise by six feet 69 00:03:25,100 --> 00:03:28,066 in the next century, as predicted. 70 00:03:28,100 --> 00:03:32,133 -Someone had talked about storm amnesia, 71 00:03:32,166 --> 00:03:33,833 and I think that does happen 72 00:03:33,866 --> 00:03:36,033 because you forget how bad it was. 73 00:03:39,900 --> 00:03:42,033 One of the more vivid scenes I remember 74 00:03:42,066 --> 00:03:43,900 is that we take a look in the backyard area 75 00:03:43,933 --> 00:03:46,600 where our playground is... 76 00:03:46,633 --> 00:03:48,400 There were three or four homeless people, 77 00:03:48,433 --> 00:03:51,366 who didn't get the notice that a storm was coming. 78 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:53,833 They don't have cell phones. They're not watching the news. 79 00:03:53,866 --> 00:03:56,066 They just realize that the water is rising. 80 00:03:56,100 --> 00:03:58,466 And they were basically trapped in an area 81 00:03:58,500 --> 00:03:59,733 and they were standing in water 82 00:03:59,766 --> 00:04:01,600 trying to figure out how to get out of this. 83 00:04:01,633 --> 00:04:03,133 I remember that vividly thinking, 84 00:04:03,166 --> 00:04:05,033 "How many people didn't get the news flash 85 00:04:05,066 --> 00:04:06,766 that a storm is coming?" 86 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:08,600 And they were just sleeping along the river 87 00:04:08,633 --> 00:04:10,533 and then all of a sudden the water came up. 88 00:04:10,566 --> 00:04:14,666 ♪♪ 89 00:04:14,700 --> 00:04:15,900 These are porters. 90 00:04:15,933 --> 00:04:18,566 They stayed overnight. They had no choice. 91 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:20,833 This one is actually South Street. 92 00:04:20,866 --> 00:04:22,633 This was early in the storm. 93 00:04:22,666 --> 00:04:26,366 The water had just come over the edges. 94 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:27,633 When you think of Manhattan, 95 00:04:27,666 --> 00:04:29,333 you kind of think, "Oh, apartment buildings." 96 00:04:29,366 --> 00:04:33,233 You don't really think that, you know, a building flooding, 97 00:04:33,266 --> 00:04:36,800 especially in our particular neighborhood. 98 00:04:36,833 --> 00:04:37,800 This was the point where 99 00:04:37,833 --> 00:04:39,433 we could no longer enter the street. 100 00:04:39,466 --> 00:04:41,066 I mean, this is the side of the building 101 00:04:41,100 --> 00:04:44,200 and that's actually the sidewalk you can see on the right side. 102 00:04:44,233 --> 00:04:46,766 It had already gone up to the four-foot wall 103 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,066 that is outside of our building. 104 00:04:49,100 --> 00:04:52,400 And, looking down from the street, 105 00:04:52,433 --> 00:04:55,800 a sea of water, or a river of water. 106 00:04:55,833 --> 00:05:00,133 -Two Bridges got slammed by the storm surge in 2012, 107 00:05:00,166 --> 00:05:02,866 and it will be slammed again. 108 00:05:02,900 --> 00:05:05,500 -We know that there's gonna be another big hurricane. 109 00:05:05,533 --> 00:05:07,666 That hurricane could come next year, 110 00:05:07,700 --> 00:05:09,166 and they're gonna blame the politicians 111 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:10,900 for not acting fast enough. 112 00:05:10,933 --> 00:05:15,133 We have to recognize that climate change is here. 113 00:05:15,166 --> 00:05:17,500 We know that there's gonna be sea-level rise 114 00:05:17,533 --> 00:05:20,033 and we know the storms are getting more intense. 115 00:05:20,066 --> 00:05:22,133 We should find ways, have a plan, 116 00:05:22,166 --> 00:05:24,200 for people to live in a safe way. 117 00:05:24,233 --> 00:05:27,066 We're so creative about our science 118 00:05:27,100 --> 00:05:28,600 but, somehow, we haven't really brought 119 00:05:28,633 --> 00:05:32,033 our full suite of creativity to this question. 120 00:05:32,066 --> 00:05:37,666 ♪♪ 121 00:05:37,700 --> 00:05:41,266 This place is on the edge, it's on the edge of the continent, 122 00:05:41,300 --> 00:05:43,700 and that's what makes New York City so special, 123 00:05:43,733 --> 00:05:46,100 and that also is what's threatening New York City 124 00:05:46,133 --> 00:05:47,766 going into the future. 125 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,766 -New York City faces two challenges. 126 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:52,866 The first is the inevitable fact 127 00:05:52,900 --> 00:05:55,333 that the city lies in a hurricane zone, 128 00:05:55,366 --> 00:05:58,366 and storms will continue to come no matter what. 129 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:00,233 -My kids are 10 and 15. 130 00:06:00,266 --> 00:06:01,966 I know that they're gonna have to live with this 131 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:03,666 the rest of their lives. 132 00:06:03,700 --> 00:06:06,966 I think this is something that is embedded in us 133 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:09,366 as people who have had to live through it. 134 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:11,900 -The second is rising sea levels. 135 00:06:11,933 --> 00:06:14,700 -I think that people in New York understand 136 00:06:14,733 --> 00:06:17,833 that sea level is rising and that it's a critical problem. 137 00:06:17,866 --> 00:06:21,966 How much it's rising? And how we'll adapt? 138 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,566 Those are still open questions. 139 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:28,633 -The challenges are clear, but what are the solutions? 140 00:06:28,666 --> 00:06:32,433 How can New York adapt and survive? 141 00:06:36,366 --> 00:06:39,433 -We're gonna go out and we're gonna just swap one instrument, 142 00:06:39,466 --> 00:06:40,800 put in a new, fresh instrument 143 00:06:40,833 --> 00:06:42,766 so we get good-quality measurement. 144 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:45,266 -Philip Orton works on the front line 145 00:06:45,300 --> 00:06:47,733 of the effort to measure the rising seas. 146 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:53,300 He monitors the Hudson River, gathering present-day data 147 00:06:53,333 --> 00:06:57,100 to predict and maybe prevent future catastrophe. 148 00:06:57,133 --> 00:06:58,933 -We've got a buoy offshore. 149 00:06:58,966 --> 00:07:02,033 It's got a SONN, an instrument that has many sensors on it, 150 00:07:02,066 --> 00:07:05,700 that's measuring pH, the oxygen, salinity of the water, 151 00:07:05,733 --> 00:07:08,300 temperature of the water, water elevation... 152 00:07:08,333 --> 00:07:10,366 There's instruments all up and down the Hudson. 153 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:11,733 It'll send the data to the Internet 154 00:07:11,766 --> 00:07:13,666 which we take into our database. 155 00:07:13,700 --> 00:07:16,466 We collect the data for the forecast model. 156 00:07:16,500 --> 00:07:18,633 Much like with the weather forecast, 157 00:07:18,666 --> 00:07:20,366 you can merge the best information you have 158 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:21,933 to form the initial conditions 159 00:07:21,966 --> 00:07:24,366 in order to launch your next forecast. 160 00:07:26,233 --> 00:07:28,533 -These gauges help Orton understand 161 00:07:28,566 --> 00:07:30,633 which parts of the city are most at risk 162 00:07:30,666 --> 00:07:34,366 when the next big storm or hurricane hits. 163 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:39,066 ♪♪ 164 00:07:39,100 --> 00:07:42,266 After Sandy, Orton's data was used in modeling 165 00:07:42,300 --> 00:07:43,900 to see what New York would look like 166 00:07:43,933 --> 00:07:47,600 with six feet of sea level rise by 2100. 167 00:07:47,633 --> 00:07:49,900 -So this is a satellite map showing New York City 168 00:07:49,933 --> 00:07:51,866 without any flooding. 169 00:07:51,900 --> 00:07:55,500 Shown here is Broad Channel, The Rockaways, Lower Manhattan, 170 00:07:55,533 --> 00:07:57,300 and over here is Staten Island. 171 00:07:57,333 --> 00:07:59,600 If you get six feet of sea-level rise, 172 00:07:59,633 --> 00:08:01,600 the everyday average high tide 173 00:08:01,633 --> 00:08:03,666 is gonna start flooding a lot of neighborhoods. 174 00:08:03,700 --> 00:08:06,066 It's high tide in 2100. 175 00:08:06,100 --> 00:08:08,533 This is now showing tidal flooding of places like 176 00:08:08,566 --> 00:08:12,666 South Street Seaport, Lower Manhattan, 177 00:08:12,700 --> 00:08:15,033 a lot of flooding around Jamaica Bay, 178 00:08:15,066 --> 00:08:17,333 also on Staten Island. 179 00:08:17,366 --> 00:08:21,166 Hundreds of thousands of people being flooded at that point. 180 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:23,666 It's uninhabitable when you start getting flooded 181 00:08:23,700 --> 00:08:25,566 so many times per year. 182 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:29,100 That's tidal flooding, but then there's also storm surges. 183 00:08:29,133 --> 00:08:32,233 We can also look at what 2100 would hold 184 00:08:32,266 --> 00:08:34,700 if we had a very severe storm like Hurricane Sandy, 185 00:08:34,733 --> 00:08:36,766 plus six feet of sea level rise. 186 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:40,733 A much larger percentage of the coastal zone is flooded, 187 00:08:40,766 --> 00:08:44,533 the West Side of Manhattan, the Tribeca district, 188 00:08:44,566 --> 00:08:50,433 Wall Street, Battery Park, Lower East Side. 189 00:08:50,466 --> 00:08:53,500 -Sandy flooded 51 square miles -- 190 00:08:53,533 --> 00:08:56,200 17% of the city. 191 00:08:56,233 --> 00:08:58,166 With six feet of sea rise, 192 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,166 those numbers would be closer to 100 square miles 193 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:04,033 or about 1/3 of the city underwater. 194 00:09:04,066 --> 00:09:07,933 -This kind of flooding would be catastrophic. 195 00:09:07,966 --> 00:09:09,933 There's massive infrastructural elements 196 00:09:09,966 --> 00:09:13,233 for a city of 8 million people that are in the flood zones. 197 00:09:13,266 --> 00:09:16,933 Transportation system, the tunnels, the subways, 198 00:09:16,966 --> 00:09:18,666 the electrical system, 199 00:09:18,700 --> 00:09:20,233 and of course a lot of these things were flooded 200 00:09:20,266 --> 00:09:21,566 just by Hurricane Sandy, 201 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:23,800 so if you envision six feet of sea-level rise, 202 00:09:23,833 --> 00:09:27,000 then a great deal more is at risk at that point. 203 00:09:27,033 --> 00:09:29,933 The whole city could be disabled in this kind of flood scenario. 204 00:09:29,966 --> 00:09:32,066 It's almost certain if we don't 205 00:09:32,100 --> 00:09:33,933 reduce our carbon-dioxide emissions 206 00:09:33,966 --> 00:09:35,833 that we'll have sea level rise of that scale 207 00:09:35,866 --> 00:09:37,933 in the 22nd century. 208 00:09:37,966 --> 00:09:40,500 New York City's 300 years old. 209 00:09:40,533 --> 00:09:43,266 At this rate, we won't make it to another 300 years. 210 00:09:43,300 --> 00:09:47,766 ♪♪ 211 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:50,400 -When we designed and built New York, 212 00:09:50,433 --> 00:09:53,266 we did not think of floods and storms. 213 00:09:53,300 --> 00:09:56,933 -New York's century-old subway system 214 00:09:56,966 --> 00:10:00,233 is a disturbing example of the challenges the city faces 215 00:10:00,266 --> 00:10:03,900 from rising seas and powerful storms. 216 00:10:03,933 --> 00:10:07,266 The subway moves almost 6 million people every day, 217 00:10:07,300 --> 00:10:09,600 the largest transit service in the country, 218 00:10:09,633 --> 00:10:12,233 with 840 miles of track -- 219 00:10:12,266 --> 00:10:15,466 enough to stretch all the way to Chicago. 220 00:10:15,500 --> 00:10:18,033 But it's now in critical need of maintenance 221 00:10:18,066 --> 00:10:21,533 as New York adapts to the perils of climate change. 222 00:10:21,566 --> 00:10:24,600 -This is the South Ferry station. 223 00:10:24,633 --> 00:10:27,066 Water entered actually through this entrance 224 00:10:27,100 --> 00:10:29,900 and went all the way down the stairs... 225 00:10:32,066 --> 00:10:34,333 ...and flooded the entire station. 226 00:10:34,366 --> 00:10:38,900 There was actually three, four feet of water on the mezzanine. 227 00:10:38,933 --> 00:10:42,100 Everybody was surprised that the whole station got flooded. 228 00:10:42,133 --> 00:10:44,533 Nobody anticipated that much water coming in 229 00:10:44,566 --> 00:10:47,066 and actually flooding the whole station. 230 00:10:47,100 --> 00:10:50,600 First of all, there was urgency to get service back, 231 00:10:50,633 --> 00:10:53,300 so there was urgency to get all of the water out, 232 00:10:53,333 --> 00:10:54,333 pump everything. 233 00:10:54,366 --> 00:10:55,633 There was like... 234 00:10:55,666 --> 00:10:57,666 7 or 8 million gallons of water 235 00:10:57,700 --> 00:10:59,566 that had to be pumped out, 236 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:01,533 and it took weeks to pump it out. 237 00:11:01,566 --> 00:11:04,400 So, once they pumped out all of the water, 238 00:11:04,433 --> 00:11:07,333 then the station was assessed to see what was damaged 239 00:11:07,366 --> 00:11:08,466 and what had to be done. 240 00:11:08,500 --> 00:11:12,700 ♪♪ 241 00:11:12,733 --> 00:11:14,566 -Joe Lhota is the chairman of 242 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:16,833 the Metropolitan Transit Authority. 243 00:11:16,866 --> 00:11:20,200 He says that the city's 14 submerged subway tunnels 244 00:11:20,233 --> 00:11:23,900 are in jeopardy due to storm surge and rising seas. 245 00:11:23,933 --> 00:11:26,500 -The subway system was built 246 00:11:26,533 --> 00:11:29,366 over about 115 years ago now. 247 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:31,666 And when they opened it, 248 00:11:31,700 --> 00:11:33,800 I don't think they ever envisioned the rising tides 249 00:11:33,833 --> 00:11:36,566 that we're experiencing now in the 21st century. 250 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:40,566 Pretty much all of our tunnels were damaged. 251 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:42,500 Not just to the actual rail equipment 252 00:11:42,533 --> 00:11:43,866 but to the side of the walls. 253 00:11:43,900 --> 00:11:46,266 We had South Ferry station here in Lower Manhattan 254 00:11:46,300 --> 00:11:48,633 that was pretty much brand-new, completely renovated 255 00:11:48,666 --> 00:11:50,633 that was completely destroyed. 256 00:11:50,666 --> 00:11:53,266 The water went all the way up to the steps, 257 00:11:53,300 --> 00:11:56,333 its two stories below ground, it was completely flooded. 258 00:11:56,366 --> 00:11:58,966 We need to rebuild the system. 259 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:03,633 -Dr. Klaus Jacob is a disaster-risk and climate expert 260 00:12:03,666 --> 00:12:05,800 In 2011, he released a study 261 00:12:05,833 --> 00:12:08,800 that warned it would only take a single superstorm, 262 00:12:08,833 --> 00:12:10,766 combined with sea-level rise, 263 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:15,866 to flood and destroy the city's most vulnerable subway tunnels. 264 00:12:15,900 --> 00:12:19,366 -We did the studies in close cooperation 265 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:21,066 with the engineering staff 266 00:12:21,100 --> 00:12:24,300 of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, 267 00:12:24,333 --> 00:12:27,300 whose subdivision runs the subway system. 268 00:12:27,333 --> 00:12:29,433 Looking not only at the present, 269 00:12:29,466 --> 00:12:33,166 but for the 2030s, 2050s, 2080s 270 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:35,400 and the end of the century. 271 00:12:35,433 --> 00:12:37,600 Our focus really was climate change 272 00:12:37,633 --> 00:12:42,900 and how would New York City adapt to that rising sea level 273 00:12:42,933 --> 00:12:46,333 with storms superimposed on top. 274 00:12:46,366 --> 00:12:51,166 Our results showed that the Achilles' heel of New York City 275 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:54,266 would be the subway system. 276 00:12:54,300 --> 00:12:58,000 We had computed that it would take only about 40 minutes 277 00:12:58,033 --> 00:13:01,600 to fill whatever can be filled. 278 00:13:01,633 --> 00:13:05,366 But if you have six feet of water already in addition, 279 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:12,300 a city like New York City has no choice but to take action. 280 00:13:12,333 --> 00:13:14,466 -The subway is just one of 281 00:13:14,500 --> 00:13:16,666 several critical infrastructure assets 282 00:13:16,700 --> 00:13:18,366 New York City has to protect 283 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:21,133 from rising sea levels and powerful storms. 284 00:13:21,166 --> 00:13:23,600 -It's $7- to $8-billion problem. 285 00:13:23,633 --> 00:13:25,233 It's not just the subways -- 286 00:13:25,266 --> 00:13:27,666 we also have numerous bridges and tunnels. 287 00:13:27,700 --> 00:13:29,266 We also have the commuter rail lines, 288 00:13:29,300 --> 00:13:31,033 Metro-North and the Lower Allen railroad 289 00:13:31,066 --> 00:13:33,200 that we need to make resilient. 290 00:13:33,233 --> 00:13:35,533 Because that's how people get to and from work, 291 00:13:35,566 --> 00:13:37,000 to and from school. 292 00:13:37,033 --> 00:13:38,400 They're the arteries that allow 293 00:13:38,433 --> 00:13:40,266 the lifeblood of the metropolitan area 294 00:13:40,300 --> 00:13:43,666 to stick together. 295 00:13:43,700 --> 00:13:47,033 -New York's population is at its highest in history 296 00:13:47,066 --> 00:13:49,833 and shows no sign of declining. 297 00:13:49,866 --> 00:13:53,700 8.6 million people now call the five boroughs home 298 00:13:53,733 --> 00:13:58,566 and that population has risen 5.5% since 2010 -- 299 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,400 leading the state in population growth. 300 00:14:01,433 --> 00:14:05,466 -I have looked at the evolution of New York City 301 00:14:05,500 --> 00:14:07,900 over its 400 years of existence. 302 00:14:07,933 --> 00:14:12,400 It has undergone so many mutations. 303 00:14:12,433 --> 00:14:17,833 I mean, it did not look anything like it looks now. 304 00:14:17,866 --> 00:14:22,600 Why should it look in 100 years anything like it looks now? 305 00:14:22,633 --> 00:14:26,066 -Clues to the future challenges New York City faces 306 00:14:26,100 --> 00:14:27,933 may be found in its past -- 307 00:14:27,966 --> 00:14:32,133 in urban development that started over 300 years ago. 308 00:14:32,166 --> 00:14:34,033 -I remember getting a call from Bill 309 00:14:34,066 --> 00:14:36,533 not that long after Hurricane Sandy, 310 00:14:36,566 --> 00:14:39,566 and he asked if we have maps which show, 311 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:41,133 in a really dramatic fashion, 312 00:14:41,166 --> 00:14:44,100 how the landfill in New York City 313 00:14:44,133 --> 00:14:47,466 had an impact on the severity of the storm. 314 00:14:47,500 --> 00:14:49,433 -My name is Bill Johnson. 315 00:14:49,466 --> 00:14:52,366 In 2012, I was director of the state-wide mapping program, 316 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:57,200 part of the Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services. 317 00:14:57,233 --> 00:14:59,833 They were hoping that the maps would help them understand 318 00:14:59,866 --> 00:15:02,800 the underlying issues related to the storm. 319 00:15:02,833 --> 00:15:04,566 And so, we started thinking about 320 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:06,733 how we could help her with this work. 321 00:15:09,700 --> 00:15:12,233 -My reaction to this kind of request was excitement 322 00:15:12,266 --> 00:15:15,133 in that we had means to contribute 323 00:15:15,166 --> 00:15:20,000 to helping the city become a more resilient place. 324 00:15:20,033 --> 00:15:23,600 -We started thinking about overlays of aerial imagery 325 00:15:23,633 --> 00:15:25,933 with historic maps. 326 00:15:25,966 --> 00:15:29,900 -We had all of these maps here in digital format already 327 00:15:29,933 --> 00:15:35,100 and we had them stretched over the same geographic grid 328 00:15:35,133 --> 00:15:38,000 so that they lined up when we compared them. 329 00:15:38,033 --> 00:15:40,066 -Those were the raw ingredients we needed. 330 00:15:40,100 --> 00:15:41,800 We had an accurate representation 331 00:15:41,833 --> 00:15:43,266 of everything that had changed 332 00:15:43,300 --> 00:15:47,533 between 1609 and 2012 as evidenced in an aerial photo. 333 00:15:50,066 --> 00:15:54,266 So, when we overlay this 1860 map on the 1767, 334 00:15:54,300 --> 00:15:56,100 what's immediately apparent is 335 00:15:56,133 --> 00:15:57,966 that there's a tremendous expansion. 336 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:02,200 Here's the 1767 shoreline I'm tracing with my finger. 337 00:16:02,233 --> 00:16:05,266 So, all of this from here out to here is new. 338 00:16:05,300 --> 00:16:09,166 We overlay that on the modern map of Manhattan, 339 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:11,133 and you can see how much of Lower Manhattan 340 00:16:11,166 --> 00:16:15,333 is actually constructed on the man-made, reclaimed land. 341 00:16:15,366 --> 00:16:17,333 -An area which was formerly undeveloped 342 00:16:17,366 --> 00:16:19,466 is the scene of a project in which is employment is provided 343 00:16:19,500 --> 00:16:21,633 for both skilled and unskilled workers. 344 00:16:21,666 --> 00:16:22,900 A long bulkhead was built 345 00:16:22,933 --> 00:16:25,166 to reclaim land from the waters of the bay. 346 00:16:27,066 --> 00:16:30,200 -Almost four square miles of modern-day Manhattan 347 00:16:30,233 --> 00:16:34,333 is built on landfill added all along the city's coasts. 348 00:16:36,133 --> 00:16:41,500 -We took the Sandy storm-surge data and overlaid it on top 349 00:16:41,533 --> 00:16:44,666 to see if there was alignment between the man-made lands 350 00:16:44,700 --> 00:16:48,766 and where the flooding occurred from Sandy. 351 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,233 And what we can see 352 00:16:51,266 --> 00:16:57,666 is that it very dramatically aligns with the man-made area. 353 00:16:57,700 --> 00:16:59,966 What this really reveals 354 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,300 is that the flooding from superstorm Sandy 355 00:17:03,333 --> 00:17:05,933 is largely man-made. 356 00:17:07,866 --> 00:17:11,166 The flooding occurred largely as a result 357 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:13,266 of 400 years of human activity 358 00:17:13,300 --> 00:17:16,533 that basically created a new floodplain. 359 00:17:16,566 --> 00:17:19,800 And that floodplain is densely filled with 360 00:17:19,833 --> 00:17:21,833 modern, urban infrastructure -- 361 00:17:21,866 --> 00:17:24,800 subway tunnels, power-plants -- 362 00:17:24,833 --> 00:17:26,966 and that's where we saw the damage 363 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,200 from flooding from Sandy. 364 00:17:29,233 --> 00:17:31,500 -The reclaimed land Johnson identifies 365 00:17:31,533 --> 00:17:34,433 is a critical part of the U.S. economy. 366 00:17:34,466 --> 00:17:38,733 Banking, finance, technology, communication, insurance -- 367 00:17:38,766 --> 00:17:41,900 more Fortune 500 companies have offices here 368 00:17:41,933 --> 00:17:44,500 than anywhere else on the planet. 369 00:17:44,533 --> 00:17:46,633 -We are the financial capital of the country, 370 00:17:46,666 --> 00:17:48,033 if not the world, 371 00:17:48,066 --> 00:17:50,433 we are the center of arts and media. 372 00:17:50,466 --> 00:17:52,633 Many of the media companies for this country, 373 00:17:52,666 --> 00:17:54,900 if not the world, are headquartered here. 374 00:17:54,933 --> 00:17:57,233 We have to get it right because of what we mean 375 00:17:57,266 --> 00:18:00,433 to the economy of the country and the economy of the world. 376 00:18:00,466 --> 00:18:03,166 And we need to do better. 377 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:04,733 -Despite dire warnings, 378 00:18:04,766 --> 00:18:09,100 63% of New Yorkers who were under mandatory evacuation 379 00:18:09,133 --> 00:18:11,400 stay put through Sandy. 380 00:18:11,433 --> 00:18:14,300 Many stay because they have no choice. 381 00:18:14,333 --> 00:18:16,866 -That's typical in a lot of the affordable neighborhoods 382 00:18:16,900 --> 00:18:19,866 in New York City, and it's a stark contrast 383 00:18:19,900 --> 00:18:21,766 to a lot of the other neighborhoods. 384 00:18:23,833 --> 00:18:26,166 People just don't have the resources to leave. 385 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:29,433 They shelter in place 386 00:18:29,466 --> 00:18:30,833 and they're used to sheltering in place 387 00:18:30,866 --> 00:18:34,033 during the typical disasters that we've had in New York. 388 00:18:34,066 --> 00:18:36,333 Where are they gonna go? 389 00:18:36,366 --> 00:18:39,600 -The city has created new evacuation zones 390 00:18:39,633 --> 00:18:42,433 that can accommodate 3 million New Yorkers. 391 00:18:42,466 --> 00:18:44,700 -You don't want to put people's lives at risk. 392 00:18:44,733 --> 00:18:46,466 You have hundreds of thousands of people, 393 00:18:46,500 --> 00:18:48,200 if not millions of people affected 394 00:18:48,233 --> 00:18:51,100 by the decision to evacuate. 395 00:18:51,133 --> 00:18:52,700 It is costly as well. 396 00:18:52,733 --> 00:18:55,400 You're opening shelters, there's an economic impact 397 00:18:55,433 --> 00:18:58,466 but you have to say life safety is the most important thing. 398 00:18:58,500 --> 00:19:00,866 There's certainly always going to be a challenge 399 00:19:00,900 --> 00:19:02,266 with people making that decision -- 400 00:19:02,300 --> 00:19:03,700 do they want to leave their homes? 401 00:19:03,733 --> 00:19:05,100 And the best thing you can do 402 00:19:05,133 --> 00:19:07,400 is tell people you have to take this seriously. 403 00:19:07,433 --> 00:19:10,300 -But evacuation is a band-aid solution 404 00:19:10,333 --> 00:19:13,466 for a life-threatening problem -- 405 00:19:13,500 --> 00:19:16,166 rising sea levels that will make parts of the city 406 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:18,233 permanently uninhabitable, 407 00:19:18,266 --> 00:19:22,566 unless innovative engineering can make a difference. 408 00:19:25,566 --> 00:19:28,633 That takes political will. 409 00:19:28,666 --> 00:19:30,233 -My name is Dan Zarrilli. 410 00:19:30,266 --> 00:19:31,633 I'm the chief resilience officer 411 00:19:31,666 --> 00:19:33,233 and the senior director for climate policy and programs 412 00:19:33,266 --> 00:19:34,533 here in the mayor's office. 413 00:19:34,566 --> 00:19:37,400 There's been a lot of activity to make sure that we are 414 00:19:37,433 --> 00:19:40,533 more aware of what it means to live by the coast 415 00:19:40,566 --> 00:19:42,633 and that sometimes you may get wet 416 00:19:42,666 --> 00:19:44,966 but we're continuing to invest and make sure that 417 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,366 we are able to bounce back quicker from those events 418 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:49,266 and that we are building a stronger New York City 419 00:19:49,300 --> 00:19:50,500 at the end of this. 420 00:19:50,533 --> 00:19:52,666 The vulnerabilities aren't just something 421 00:19:52,700 --> 00:19:54,100 that's going to show up in 100 years. 422 00:19:54,133 --> 00:19:55,700 They're here, they're now, 423 00:19:55,733 --> 00:19:58,100 and we need to invest to mitigate those risks 424 00:19:58,133 --> 00:20:00,433 and that means that we're looking at a full range 425 00:20:00,466 --> 00:20:03,000 of coastal-defense investments. 426 00:20:03,033 --> 00:20:05,733 We're implementing them, new building code regulations, 427 00:20:05,766 --> 00:20:08,833 new zoning code regulations, upgrading our infrastructure. 428 00:20:08,866 --> 00:20:11,833 -In the search for solutions to save the city, 429 00:20:11,866 --> 00:20:14,966 Dan Zarrilli has turned to the private sector. 430 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,766 -We are not an infrastructure-forward country 431 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,400 right now. -Vishaan Chakrabarti 432 00:20:20,433 --> 00:20:22,566 is one of the architects and urban thinkers 433 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,000 who is tackling the problem head on. 434 00:20:25,033 --> 00:20:27,333 -The last time we were was under President Eisenhower. 435 00:20:27,366 --> 00:20:29,933 -The highway construction program initiated by Ike 436 00:20:29,966 --> 00:20:33,066 is the biggest peace-time enterprise ever undertaken. 437 00:20:33,100 --> 00:20:36,566 It will cost tens of billions. -That was the last time 438 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,633 this nation moved a quantum leap forward 439 00:20:39,666 --> 00:20:42,633 in terms of its infrastructure and we haven't done it since. 440 00:20:42,666 --> 00:20:44,100 -The elimination of waste spending 441 00:20:44,133 --> 00:20:47,000 made a balanced budget possible. -As much as I love New York, 442 00:20:47,033 --> 00:20:48,933 our biggest problem in my mind 443 00:20:48,966 --> 00:20:51,266 is that we have substandard infrastructure 444 00:20:51,300 --> 00:20:52,733 that's over 100 years old. 445 00:20:52,766 --> 00:20:55,533 I think we really need to step back and holistically look at 446 00:20:55,566 --> 00:20:57,466 all the infrastructure in the city. 447 00:20:57,500 --> 00:20:59,566 Do we have train stations that function properly? 448 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:02,100 Do we have subways that can run in these situations? 449 00:21:03,966 --> 00:21:05,433 In the world's richest country, 450 00:21:05,466 --> 00:21:07,866 and the richest city of the world's richest country, 451 00:21:07,900 --> 00:21:12,733 are we gonna say that we're not gonna do something about this? 452 00:21:12,766 --> 00:21:16,200 -The question remains, does New York City really need 453 00:21:16,233 --> 00:21:19,100 to spend huge sums on expensive mega-projects 454 00:21:19,133 --> 00:21:21,933 to protect itself from rising sea levels? 455 00:21:21,966 --> 00:21:25,366 The answer may lie in a vault in Massachusetts. 456 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,066 Historical records reveal evidence 457 00:21:28,100 --> 00:21:30,400 of previous mega-storms in New York, 458 00:21:30,433 --> 00:21:32,933 and researchers look for patterns to determine 459 00:21:32,966 --> 00:21:35,366 if they are getting more frequent and worse. 460 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,266 -This is the sea-floor-samples lab. 461 00:21:37,300 --> 00:21:40,800 It's a national archive of all the sediment cores 462 00:21:40,833 --> 00:21:42,833 that have been taken over the last several decades. 463 00:21:42,866 --> 00:21:45,033 -Jeff Donnelly is a senior scientist 464 00:21:45,066 --> 00:21:47,800 at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 465 00:21:47,833 --> 00:21:49,700 -There are samples from all over the world. 466 00:21:49,733 --> 00:21:51,500 Tens of thousands of them. 467 00:21:51,533 --> 00:21:54,000 We maintain this archive so that scientists can come 468 00:21:54,033 --> 00:21:56,000 and resample cores that may have been taken 469 00:21:56,033 --> 00:21:57,733 long before they were even born. 470 00:21:57,766 --> 00:21:59,400 -These core-sediment samples 471 00:21:59,433 --> 00:22:03,666 were taken by scientists in New York, dating back to 1721. 472 00:22:03,700 --> 00:22:06,200 -One of the things that makes New York especially vulnerable 473 00:22:06,233 --> 00:22:08,466 to hurricane strikes is the sort of shape of the coastline there. 474 00:22:08,500 --> 00:22:09,833 You've got the bight 475 00:22:09,866 --> 00:22:12,033 where New York and New Jersey come together. 476 00:22:12,066 --> 00:22:14,100 As a storm comes up the eastern seaboard, 477 00:22:14,133 --> 00:22:16,100 it's focusing water into that bight 478 00:22:16,133 --> 00:22:19,166 and causing greater levels of storm surge. 479 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:23,200 -Just like tree rings can tell the story of climate change, 480 00:22:23,233 --> 00:22:25,633 core-sediment samples offer clear signs 481 00:22:25,666 --> 00:22:29,333 of powerful hurricanes across the past 300 years. 482 00:22:29,366 --> 00:22:32,433 -You can see these really distinctive sand layers here 483 00:22:32,466 --> 00:22:34,933 that are deposited within the salt marsh peat 484 00:22:34,966 --> 00:22:37,133 and it's these layers that tell us about 485 00:22:37,166 --> 00:22:38,600 the high-energy event that occurred, 486 00:22:38,633 --> 00:22:40,933 so it's hurricane waves and storm surge 487 00:22:40,966 --> 00:22:42,200 overtopping the beach 488 00:22:42,233 --> 00:22:46,200 transporting the beach sand into the salt marsh. 489 00:22:46,233 --> 00:22:48,833 We already had well-documented the 1821 hurricane 490 00:22:48,866 --> 00:22:50,533 but didn't really have a very good modern analogue 491 00:22:50,566 --> 00:22:53,033 for which we had modern measurements. 492 00:22:53,066 --> 00:22:55,966 Hurricane Sandy provided an opportunity 493 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,233 to do a comparison with these earlier events. 494 00:22:59,266 --> 00:23:01,333 We know from the documentary record that 495 00:23:01,366 --> 00:23:05,800 the storm surge for 1821 was actually even higher than Sandy. 496 00:23:05,833 --> 00:23:10,200 It was probably about 14, 15 feet worth of storm surge. 497 00:23:10,233 --> 00:23:11,933 The 1821 hurricane hit 498 00:23:11,966 --> 00:23:14,400 when sea levels were about two-feet lower. 499 00:23:14,433 --> 00:23:17,166 -Every century, the city gets slammed. 500 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,133 -You don't even need the bigger and badder storm than 1821, 501 00:23:20,166 --> 00:23:21,300 you have 1821 come back, 502 00:23:21,333 --> 00:23:23,200 you've already gotta add two feet to that 503 00:23:23,233 --> 00:23:26,000 just because of the sea-level rise that's occurred since then. 504 00:23:26,033 --> 00:23:27,500 -Donnelly's findings confirm 505 00:23:27,533 --> 00:23:31,066 superstorm Sandy was not the exception, but the rule -- 506 00:23:31,100 --> 00:23:32,833 common to every century. 507 00:23:32,866 --> 00:23:36,100 In fact, the storm surge in 1821 508 00:23:36,133 --> 00:23:39,666 was 1 1/2 times the height and strength of Sandy. 509 00:23:39,700 --> 00:23:43,333 -They're more of an order of once every 70, 80, 100 years. 510 00:23:43,366 --> 00:23:47,300 -New York's population then was just over 120,000 people -- 511 00:23:47,333 --> 00:23:50,100 most of whom did not live on the water's edge. 512 00:23:50,133 --> 00:23:52,400 -In the next century, sea level is forecast to rise 513 00:23:52,433 --> 00:23:54,133 at least three more feet, so you can imagine 514 00:23:54,166 --> 00:23:57,066 how much more infrastructure and people are at risk 515 00:23:57,100 --> 00:23:59,733 as every foot sea level rises. 516 00:24:01,666 --> 00:24:03,366 -Donnelly's findings confirm 517 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:05,766 that New York has always been hit by hurricanes. 518 00:24:07,766 --> 00:24:10,666 The next storm is coming, and more people than ever 519 00:24:10,700 --> 00:24:14,333 will be living along New York's coasts when the city floods. 520 00:24:14,366 --> 00:24:18,366 ♪♪ 521 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:22,133 This is how New York City's coast looked in 1821, 522 00:24:22,166 --> 00:24:25,300 when the last mega-storm before Sandy hit -- 523 00:24:25,333 --> 00:24:28,933 stark, wild, flat and vulnerable. 524 00:24:28,966 --> 00:24:33,600 It's a salt marsh in New Jersey, 20 miles from Manhattan. 525 00:24:33,633 --> 00:24:39,166 ♪♪ 526 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:43,366 -It's interesting to know that sea level goes up and goes down 527 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:45,500 but if you want to correlate it with climate, 528 00:24:45,533 --> 00:24:47,066 you need to know when. 529 00:24:47,100 --> 00:24:50,366 -Horton and his team also use core-sediment samples 530 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,466 to research the prehistoric climate of New York. 531 00:24:53,500 --> 00:24:56,400 But instead of focusing on the patterns of sand layers, 532 00:24:56,433 --> 00:24:59,366 they look at microscopic organisms to determine 533 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:01,233 if sea levels have risen dramatically 534 00:25:01,266 --> 00:25:03,266 in the prehistoric past. 535 00:25:03,300 --> 00:25:06,533 -The four meters of sediment represents approximately 536 00:25:06,566 --> 00:25:09,800 the last 2,000 years of Earth's history. 537 00:25:09,833 --> 00:25:13,633 It's a nice sample. 538 00:25:13,666 --> 00:25:16,366 We take these cores back 539 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:20,833 and we try and record precisely how sea level has changed. 540 00:25:20,866 --> 00:25:24,100 Has it accelerated? Has it decelerated? 541 00:25:24,133 --> 00:25:27,333 And then correlate those with changes in climate. 542 00:25:27,366 --> 00:25:34,033 ♪♪ 543 00:25:34,066 --> 00:25:37,700 The microfossils that we're looking at under the microscope 544 00:25:37,733 --> 00:25:43,033 are single-cell organisms known as foraminifera. 545 00:25:43,066 --> 00:25:47,200 Okay, let me have a look. 546 00:25:47,233 --> 00:25:49,566 -Horton's looking for microscopic fossils 547 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:52,300 that come from the marsh when water is at its highest 548 00:25:52,333 --> 00:25:53,866 and lowest. 549 00:25:53,900 --> 00:25:55,333 The presence of these fossils 550 00:25:55,366 --> 00:25:57,666 gives a clear picture of changing sea levels 551 00:25:57,700 --> 00:25:59,666 across hundreds of years. 552 00:25:59,700 --> 00:26:02,633 -So, based upon the changes in the abundance 553 00:26:02,666 --> 00:26:05,400 of any individual species 554 00:26:05,433 --> 00:26:10,100 tells you how sea level has changed through time. 555 00:26:10,133 --> 00:26:13,533 -The research shows that for well over 1,500 years, 556 00:26:13,566 --> 00:26:15,233 sea levels were stable. 557 00:26:15,266 --> 00:26:18,033 200 years ago, that changed -- 558 00:26:18,066 --> 00:26:21,733 not coincidentally, with the Industrial Revolution. 559 00:26:21,766 --> 00:26:25,400 -Beginning in the latter part of the 19th century 560 00:26:25,433 --> 00:26:27,833 is where sea level accelerated. 561 00:26:27,866 --> 00:26:31,766 When we correlate climate and sea level, 562 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:34,333 we see a near-perfect relationship -- 563 00:26:34,366 --> 00:26:38,400 whenever climate warmed, sea levels accelerated. 564 00:26:38,433 --> 00:26:41,933 One of the fundamental questions 565 00:26:41,966 --> 00:26:45,500 that, as climate scientists, we are asked is, 566 00:26:45,533 --> 00:26:49,166 is the modern rate of change unprecedented? 567 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:51,133 We were able to show that 568 00:26:51,166 --> 00:26:55,366 the rates of sea-level rise in the 20th and the 21st century 569 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:59,400 had not been seen for the previous 2,000 years. 570 00:26:59,433 --> 00:27:02,700 The latest projections predict 571 00:27:02,733 --> 00:27:04,933 that New York City would receive 572 00:27:04,966 --> 00:27:09,833 an upper estimate of sea level of around two meters by 2100, 573 00:27:09,866 --> 00:27:11,933 or around six feet. 574 00:27:11,966 --> 00:27:16,466 We're living in a very, very unusual time. 575 00:27:16,500 --> 00:27:20,666 We have a clear choice, and therefore we still have hope. 576 00:27:20,700 --> 00:27:24,566 But if we don't make urgent action, then all bets are off. 577 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:28,700 -With a six-foot sea rise, according to Horton's research, 578 00:27:28,733 --> 00:27:33,100 a full 280 square miles of New York will be lost forever, 579 00:27:33,133 --> 00:27:35,500 a sunken city. 580 00:27:35,533 --> 00:27:39,133 600,000 New Yorkers will lose their homes. 581 00:27:39,166 --> 00:27:44,233 300,000 jobs will be displaced or lost. 582 00:27:44,266 --> 00:27:46,800 The poorest will take the hardest hit, 583 00:27:46,833 --> 00:27:50,666 with 12,000 public-housing units cut off by the sea. 584 00:27:50,700 --> 00:27:53,500 The people working the problem on the ground 585 00:27:53,533 --> 00:27:55,066 now seek solutions, 586 00:27:55,100 --> 00:27:59,233 to rebuild and protect New York for the 22nd century. 587 00:28:02,666 --> 00:28:05,166 This is what's called, the BIG U. 588 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:07,200 It's an ambitious megaproject 589 00:28:07,233 --> 00:28:10,266 that would protect the $500-billion business sector 590 00:28:10,300 --> 00:28:11,600 in lower Manhattan, 591 00:28:11,633 --> 00:28:14,666 the epicenter of the American economy. 592 00:28:14,700 --> 00:28:16,533 -My name is Kai Uwe-Bergmann. 593 00:28:16,566 --> 00:28:20,433 -Uwe-Bergmann is an architect who leads the BIG U project. 594 00:28:20,466 --> 00:28:24,833 -We have proposed 10 miles of contiguous flood protection 595 00:28:24,866 --> 00:28:28,666 stretching from West 57th, 58th Streets 596 00:28:28,700 --> 00:28:31,300 along the entire coastline 597 00:28:31,333 --> 00:28:34,500 to the tip where Battery Park is right now, 598 00:28:34,533 --> 00:28:37,466 and then back up the East River to the 30s. 599 00:28:37,500 --> 00:28:40,533 That would protect all of the geography 600 00:28:40,566 --> 00:28:43,100 that is currently below the flood line. 601 00:28:43,133 --> 00:28:47,133 -The BIG U is a massive sea wall, in places 20-feet high, 602 00:28:47,166 --> 00:28:49,466 that would protect the most vital business district 603 00:28:49,500 --> 00:28:53,166 in the U.S. from sea-level rise of up to 15 feet. 604 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:55,533 Its surface would be primarily parkland, 605 00:28:55,566 --> 00:28:57,966 with sports facilities, playgrounds, 606 00:28:58,000 --> 00:28:59,500 and bike and walking paths 607 00:28:59,533 --> 00:29:01,866 all along the 10 miles of coastline 608 00:29:01,900 --> 00:29:03,666 it is designed to protect. 609 00:29:03,700 --> 00:29:05,200 -In the case of New York, 610 00:29:05,233 --> 00:29:08,100 there was a realization that climate change 611 00:29:08,133 --> 00:29:11,066 is something that we need to address. 612 00:29:11,100 --> 00:29:14,966 You can think of the BIG U as actually a giant gutter, 613 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,500 because it also is dealing with all of the rain 614 00:29:18,533 --> 00:29:21,566 that's hitting the streets while a hurricane event 615 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:23,200 or a storm event is happening. 616 00:29:23,233 --> 00:29:26,833 The BIG U has also a contiguous bike trail, 617 00:29:26,866 --> 00:29:29,800 so if it were all built out, all 10 miles, 618 00:29:29,833 --> 00:29:31,933 you could ride a bicycle for 10 miles 619 00:29:31,966 --> 00:29:33,366 and never cross a street. 620 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:35,233 You could say that the coastline of Manhattan 621 00:29:35,266 --> 00:29:38,400 is actually going from a working waterfront 622 00:29:38,433 --> 00:29:40,500 to one that is about leisure, 623 00:29:40,533 --> 00:29:42,333 it's about health and well-being 624 00:29:42,366 --> 00:29:44,266 and making the waterfront accessible. 625 00:29:44,300 --> 00:29:47,066 -The BIG U will be realized in stages, 626 00:29:47,100 --> 00:29:51,300 the first being a 2.5-mile stretch on the Lower East Side. 627 00:29:51,333 --> 00:29:56,200 The city has approved the plan, with a budget of $305 million. 628 00:29:56,233 --> 00:29:58,833 Trever Holland lives in a neighborhood 629 00:29:58,866 --> 00:30:00,966 the BIG U would protect. 630 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:02,833 As a lawyer and a resident, 631 00:30:02,866 --> 00:30:04,966 he took part in meetings with the developers, 632 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,300 who say the project would protect Two Bridges 633 00:30:07,333 --> 00:30:09,266 from the rising sea. 634 00:30:09,300 --> 00:30:11,233 -This neighborhood has planning fatigue. 635 00:30:11,266 --> 00:30:13,600 We've been to dozens of meetings. 636 00:30:13,633 --> 00:30:15,400 Dozens of meetings about what we're gonna do. 637 00:30:15,433 --> 00:30:17,233 We're gonna change this, we're gonna add this, 638 00:30:17,266 --> 00:30:19,466 and a lot of those plans wind up on the shelves. 639 00:30:19,500 --> 00:30:21,466 You go through this process of trying to figure out 640 00:30:21,500 --> 00:30:22,733 a way to protect the neighborhood 641 00:30:22,766 --> 00:30:26,366 and you wind up with a nice, big, glossy booklet 642 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:28,566 that sits on a shelf and nothing happens. 643 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:31,600 -That's not Holland's only problem with the BIG U. 644 00:30:31,633 --> 00:30:36,200 -We fought so long to get access to the waterfront. 645 00:30:36,233 --> 00:30:38,633 And now, one of the solutions that they're proposing 646 00:30:38,666 --> 00:30:40,266 is to basically close it off. 647 00:30:40,300 --> 00:30:42,666 We're gonna build 10-foot walls all made of concrete 648 00:30:42,700 --> 00:30:44,800 and you'll be protected -- Good to go. 649 00:30:44,833 --> 00:30:46,966 We've been asking "Is this the only solution? 650 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:49,900 Is there anything else, or are we just looking at walls? 651 00:30:49,933 --> 00:30:51,900 I mean, what have other cities done?" 652 00:30:51,933 --> 00:30:54,000 -Holland's not alone. 653 00:30:54,033 --> 00:30:56,000 There are others who think the BIG U 654 00:30:56,033 --> 00:30:58,233 is a step in the wrong direction. 655 00:30:58,266 --> 00:30:59,800 -In Rotterdam, they are designing 656 00:30:59,833 --> 00:31:01,666 underground parking garages, 657 00:31:01,700 --> 00:31:03,500 so if they know a storm is coming, 658 00:31:03,533 --> 00:31:08,466 they evacuate the cars and they build that parking garage 659 00:31:08,500 --> 00:31:10,366 so that it can be a water-holding tank 660 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:12,533 that holds millions of gallons of water. 661 00:31:12,566 --> 00:31:14,766 So that water doesn't go out into the community 662 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:16,133 and then when the water recedes, 663 00:31:16,166 --> 00:31:18,000 they have a mechanism to pump the water out 664 00:31:18,033 --> 00:31:19,233 of the parking garage. 665 00:31:19,266 --> 00:31:20,700 The parking garage does double duty. 666 00:31:20,733 --> 00:31:23,800 So, there are ways to design around these problems. 667 00:31:23,833 --> 00:31:27,066 I don't think the answer is you're gonna retreat from 668 00:31:27,100 --> 00:31:28,533 all of Lower Manhattan. 669 00:31:28,566 --> 00:31:33,833 We have to figure out how to build things more resiliently. 670 00:31:33,866 --> 00:31:37,333 -Geophysicist Klaus Jacob has other concerns. 671 00:31:37,366 --> 00:31:41,833 -How high do you make those seawalls 672 00:31:41,866 --> 00:31:45,400 before you are in a prison? 673 00:31:45,433 --> 00:31:49,533 And that's not a sustainable solution. 674 00:31:49,566 --> 00:31:52,433 -That's a dystopian picture. 675 00:31:52,466 --> 00:31:54,233 It's just a wall. 676 00:31:54,266 --> 00:31:58,533 And most of it, in fact, is just a concrete and rebar wall. 677 00:31:58,566 --> 00:32:01,866 And I think that going in that direction 678 00:32:01,900 --> 00:32:03,766 makes our cities more brittle. 679 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:05,766 It's so easy for that wall to break. 680 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:08,666 I mean, I worked in New Orleans for eight years. Walls break. 681 00:32:08,700 --> 00:32:12,100 Unexpected things happen, a barge whacks up against it. 682 00:32:12,133 --> 00:32:14,933 There's always something unexpected. 683 00:32:14,966 --> 00:32:17,566 -Hill's greatest concern is that all walls 684 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:19,700 eventually have to come down. 685 00:32:19,733 --> 00:32:21,733 She believes in building in layers, 686 00:32:21,766 --> 00:32:23,766 with every generation contributing to 687 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:26,133 the work done by the last. 688 00:32:26,166 --> 00:32:29,633 -A wall, that's rigid, that's fixed in place. 689 00:32:29,666 --> 00:32:32,433 The design is only for that specific location. 690 00:32:32,466 --> 00:32:34,533 We should spend that same amount of money 691 00:32:34,566 --> 00:32:37,466 to put things in place that can be added to. 692 00:32:37,500 --> 00:32:41,033 We need to build the foundation for future generations. 693 00:32:43,066 --> 00:32:45,100 -Urban architect Pippa Brashear 694 00:32:45,133 --> 00:32:48,866 agrees that living behind a wall is a future she cannot imagine. 695 00:32:48,900 --> 00:32:50,566 -It's fundamentally gonna change the culture. 696 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:52,600 Is that the New York City we want to live in? 697 00:32:52,633 --> 00:32:55,200 It's not the New York City I chose to live in. 698 00:32:55,233 --> 00:32:58,500 One of my greatest fears for the future of New York City 699 00:32:58,533 --> 00:33:02,033 is that we won't get past that protect question. 700 00:33:02,066 --> 00:33:04,366 -I'm a little bit of a sceptic in anything that says, 701 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:06,866 "Oh, we're gonna keep the water out over here," 702 00:33:06,900 --> 00:33:08,966 because it's gonna go somewhere. 703 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:11,466 It was conceived of as a big giant wall. 704 00:33:11,500 --> 00:33:13,366 And they might've said, "We're gonna put grass on it 705 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:17,000 so it'll look nice" but it's still a big giant wall. 706 00:33:17,033 --> 00:33:20,133 This notion that we're just gonna build a giant fence 707 00:33:20,166 --> 00:33:22,400 around New York City and keep this from happening, 708 00:33:22,433 --> 00:33:27,733 is not either practical or, in some ways, ethical. 709 00:33:27,766 --> 00:33:30,166 -It's anything but a dumb wall. 710 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:32,566 -Kai Uwe-Bergmann welcomes others 711 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:34,500 to come up with a better idea. 712 00:33:34,533 --> 00:33:39,900 -It is going to be a place that a person can actually go, 713 00:33:39,933 --> 00:33:43,333 inhabit, use 100% of the time 714 00:33:43,366 --> 00:33:47,333 and then be reassured that it's actually protecting them 715 00:33:47,366 --> 00:33:50,266 against the sea surges. 716 00:33:50,300 --> 00:33:52,633 -He says a short-term radical solution 717 00:33:52,666 --> 00:33:54,566 is better than none at all. 718 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:57,533 -I think the biggest risk is not doing anything. 719 00:33:57,566 --> 00:34:01,466 Many of these communities have heard repeatedly 720 00:34:01,500 --> 00:34:03,500 that something would be done, 721 00:34:03,533 --> 00:34:06,500 and I think that the biggest fear is that another storm event 722 00:34:06,533 --> 00:34:09,866 would come and flood them out of their homes again 723 00:34:09,900 --> 00:34:12,466 and they have to deal with the loss. 724 00:34:14,933 --> 00:34:17,833 -Broad Channel is a little island in Queens, 725 00:34:17,866 --> 00:34:21,699 in the middle of Jamaica Bay. 726 00:34:21,733 --> 00:34:24,199 It is a tiny place. 727 00:34:24,233 --> 00:34:26,199 I don't think anybody ever heard of it... 728 00:34:26,233 --> 00:34:29,100 unless you live in, you know, in the area. 729 00:34:29,133 --> 00:34:30,699 I have talked to a lot of people that live, you know, 730 00:34:30,733 --> 00:34:34,566 in Manhattan and they have no idea what Broad Channel is. 731 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:37,266 I've been here, you know, since I'm four years old. 732 00:34:37,300 --> 00:34:39,199 The same neighbors I had as growing up 733 00:34:39,233 --> 00:34:40,833 are the same neighbors I have today. 734 00:34:40,866 --> 00:34:43,033 My wife was born in Broad Channel also. 735 00:34:43,066 --> 00:34:45,633 Her whole family's from the town. 736 00:34:45,666 --> 00:34:51,533 ♪♪ 737 00:34:51,566 --> 00:34:53,699 -For years, Bassetti lived in a world 738 00:34:53,733 --> 00:34:55,833 that somehow escaped change. 739 00:34:55,866 --> 00:34:57,700 Then, about a decade ago, 740 00:34:57,733 --> 00:35:01,300 high tides flooded the streets, even on sunny days. 741 00:35:01,333 --> 00:35:04,333 -You just get used to it. 742 00:35:04,366 --> 00:35:06,566 The high tide comes up, I gotta get my daughter to school. 743 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:07,866 "All right. Get on my back," 744 00:35:07,900 --> 00:35:09,200 and you piggy-back her up to the corner 745 00:35:09,233 --> 00:35:11,133 to get her to school on time. 746 00:35:11,166 --> 00:35:13,466 This was a full-moon high tide. 747 00:35:16,866 --> 00:35:18,966 This picture is one of my favorites. 748 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,033 Day I was taking my son home from the hospital. 749 00:35:21,066 --> 00:35:23,100 He was just born. He was three days old. 750 00:35:23,133 --> 00:35:24,533 When you live in Broad Channel, 751 00:35:24,566 --> 00:35:26,966 you take off your shoes and you carry him down the block. 752 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,633 That is total Broad Channel-living right there. 753 00:35:32,900 --> 00:35:34,366 -Superstorm Sandy 754 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,600 turned the inconvenience into a catastrophe. 755 00:35:37,633 --> 00:35:39,700 -You couldn't stop it. 756 00:35:39,733 --> 00:35:42,500 There's nothing that could stop that water from coming in. 757 00:35:44,766 --> 00:35:47,466 -Bassetti and his family evacuated to Brooklyn... 758 00:35:51,900 --> 00:35:55,700 ...and returned two days later. 759 00:35:55,733 --> 00:35:58,900 -So, when I finally get to my house I go, 760 00:35:58,933 --> 00:36:00,533 "Well, this ain't that bad." 761 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:03,500 Well, it didn't get bad 762 00:36:03,533 --> 00:36:05,400 until we started doing the work, you know. 763 00:36:05,433 --> 00:36:06,833 First, all right, 764 00:36:06,866 --> 00:36:08,733 let's start throwing out everything that's wet, 765 00:36:08,766 --> 00:36:10,166 you know, let's empty out underneath the sinks, 766 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:12,500 underneath the closets, let's get rid of these couches. 767 00:36:12,533 --> 00:36:16,966 ♪♪ 768 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:21,633 -By the time they are done, there is nothing left to save. 769 00:36:21,666 --> 00:36:24,233 Bassetti joined the city's Build It Back program. 770 00:36:24,266 --> 00:36:27,133 With a whopping $2.2-billion budget, 771 00:36:27,166 --> 00:36:30,200 Build It Back encourages homeowners and businesses 772 00:36:30,233 --> 00:36:32,400 to rebuild higher and stronger, 773 00:36:32,433 --> 00:36:35,133 more resilient against the rising seas. 774 00:36:35,166 --> 00:36:38,333 The city has replaced over 1,400 homes, 775 00:36:38,366 --> 00:36:41,566 repaired and reimbursed 6,500 more 776 00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:44,933 with about 1,000 remaining under construction. 777 00:36:44,966 --> 00:36:47,666 -Build It Back is raising the home for me. 778 00:36:47,700 --> 00:36:51,100 They're raising the house 11 feet from where it started from, 779 00:36:51,133 --> 00:36:56,066 which would put me a few feet above that national flood line. 780 00:36:56,100 --> 00:36:58,033 I'm hoping I'm prepared enough. 781 00:36:58,066 --> 00:36:59,900 I'm hoping my house is raised high enough 782 00:36:59,933 --> 00:37:03,633 where the water comes in and I'm not affected. 783 00:37:03,666 --> 00:37:05,066 But I... 784 00:37:05,100 --> 00:37:07,066 Who knows? It's Mother Nature. 785 00:37:07,100 --> 00:37:10,200 You can't predict what she's gonna do. 786 00:37:10,233 --> 00:37:13,766 -Frank is one of thousands who are determined to defend. 787 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:15,800 He'll never leave. 788 00:37:15,833 --> 00:37:18,166 -Never even crossed my mind. 789 00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:20,366 This was a great place to grow up, 790 00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:23,066 and I want my kids to have the same environment. 791 00:37:23,100 --> 00:37:27,100 The house behind me is the house that I own. 792 00:37:27,133 --> 00:37:30,333 -But there was a second option -- "managed retreat." 793 00:37:30,366 --> 00:37:33,300 New York City and State also encouraged people 794 00:37:33,333 --> 00:37:37,300 to stop investing in flood-prone areas 795 00:37:37,333 --> 00:37:42,200 and leave the land to revert to its natural state. 796 00:37:42,233 --> 00:37:45,966 600 homeowners took this buy-out including Frank Moszczynski. 797 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:51,100 -Ocean Breeze was pretty much fantastic. 798 00:37:51,133 --> 00:37:54,166 It really was. It was paradise. 799 00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:59,400 I miss everything about it, most is the people that we lost. 800 00:37:59,433 --> 00:38:01,400 -Two of Moszczynski's neighbors 801 00:38:01,433 --> 00:38:03,766 died here during superstorm Sandy. 802 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:06,800 -It was the ideal spot to put something just to say, 803 00:38:06,833 --> 00:38:10,233 "Hey, we'll never forget ya." 804 00:38:10,266 --> 00:38:12,700 Both in their 80s, pillars in their community, 805 00:38:12,733 --> 00:38:16,133 great people, and just not supposed to die this way. 806 00:38:19,666 --> 00:38:24,366 We had a typical white picket fence, 807 00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:26,533 front porch right here, 808 00:38:26,566 --> 00:38:30,400 and my house would be from right here, on back. 809 00:38:32,166 --> 00:38:38,466 Paradise 364 days a year, until the day the storms came. 810 00:38:38,500 --> 00:38:41,333 My house still had about three feet of water in it. 811 00:38:41,366 --> 00:38:43,933 It was still on the foundation, 812 00:38:43,966 --> 00:38:47,066 but it had been completely submerged. 813 00:38:47,100 --> 00:38:49,800 So, it was... 814 00:38:49,833 --> 00:38:51,833 devastation. 815 00:38:51,866 --> 00:38:55,566 I did go inside, everything was turned upside down. 816 00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:58,766 And I knew there was gonna be nothing, 817 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:00,800 nothing at all savable. 818 00:39:00,833 --> 00:39:03,733 And that's when it really hit me. 819 00:39:05,833 --> 00:39:08,666 Three hours and we don't own anything. 820 00:39:08,700 --> 00:39:12,300 One of the neighboring areas on the east shore 821 00:39:12,333 --> 00:39:17,266 started talk of a buy-out. 822 00:39:17,300 --> 00:39:20,766 One day I received a call from the governor's representative, 823 00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:24,433 "Congratulations, you were very successful... 824 00:39:24,466 --> 00:39:28,000 your area has the option of the New York State buy-out." 825 00:39:28,033 --> 00:39:30,333 -Homeowners received full market value 826 00:39:30,366 --> 00:39:32,833 for their houses in exchange for leaving. 827 00:39:32,866 --> 00:39:35,566 -They took the house down and as you can see, 828 00:39:35,600 --> 00:39:40,866 we're standing here and there's just grass growing right now. 829 00:39:40,900 --> 00:39:42,433 It's doing what it was supposed to -- 830 00:39:42,466 --> 00:39:45,800 going back to nature, and nature is slowly reclaiming it. 831 00:39:45,833 --> 00:39:50,200 And the animals are coming back, too. 832 00:39:50,233 --> 00:39:52,800 Some people decided to stay. 833 00:39:52,833 --> 00:39:55,333 You know what? 834 00:39:55,366 --> 00:39:59,233 It's America, so they have choice. 835 00:39:59,266 --> 00:40:02,133 If they wanna put themselves in that predicament, 836 00:40:02,166 --> 00:40:06,000 and their family, that's their choice. 837 00:40:06,033 --> 00:40:08,700 -One bold engineering project 838 00:40:08,733 --> 00:40:11,233 is giving the coastal communities of Staten Island 839 00:40:11,266 --> 00:40:12,966 hope. 840 00:40:14,966 --> 00:40:17,433 -What if we just look at this a whole new way, 841 00:40:17,466 --> 00:40:21,600 look at the problem a new way and look for new solutions? 842 00:40:21,633 --> 00:40:25,466 -Pippa Brashear is an urban planner and landscape architect. 843 00:40:25,500 --> 00:40:27,833 She works with a team that believes the answer 844 00:40:27,866 --> 00:40:29,833 is to stop trying to fight the sea, 845 00:40:29,866 --> 00:40:33,466 but to learn to live with it and even harness it to do good, 846 00:40:33,500 --> 00:40:34,833 not harm. 847 00:40:34,866 --> 00:40:37,833 -The design project that ultimately came out of it 848 00:40:37,866 --> 00:40:39,966 was our Living Breakwaters project. 849 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:44,166 The project is located on the southern tip of Staten Island. 850 00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:48,533 It was really pummeled by waves during Sandy. 851 00:40:48,566 --> 00:40:50,366 Our Living Breakwaters project, 852 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:52,433 it's a system of offshore breakwaters. 853 00:40:52,466 --> 00:40:54,766 Each of the individual breakwaters range 854 00:40:54,800 --> 00:40:59,066 from about 300-feet long to 450-feet long 855 00:40:59,100 --> 00:41:02,933 and they are spaced along the shoreline 856 00:41:02,966 --> 00:41:06,033 to really protect it from the most damaging waves. 857 00:41:06,066 --> 00:41:10,366 The largest breakwaters that are positioned to really knock down 858 00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:12,833 those large storm waves, they have to be tall enough 859 00:41:12,866 --> 00:41:15,466 that they're still peaking above the top of the water when 860 00:41:15,500 --> 00:41:18,400 you have those really elevated surge levels like Sandy. 861 00:41:18,433 --> 00:41:21,366 And so those crest elevations are at about 14 feet 862 00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:23,433 above main sea level. 863 00:41:23,466 --> 00:41:25,533 -Rather than a continuous sea wall, 864 00:41:25,566 --> 00:41:28,333 the breakwaters are a series of raised surfaces 865 00:41:28,366 --> 00:41:30,266 that slow storm surge. 866 00:41:30,300 --> 00:41:31,600 It's an old concept, 867 00:41:31,633 --> 00:41:34,833 but the ecological element is a new twist. 868 00:41:34,866 --> 00:41:37,433 -Much of the breakwaters will be made from stone, 869 00:41:37,466 --> 00:41:39,166 but we're also using these 870 00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:41,700 bio-enhanced concrete armor units 871 00:41:41,733 --> 00:41:44,133 to help jumpstart the ecology. 872 00:41:44,166 --> 00:41:46,200 The chemical content of the concrete 873 00:41:46,233 --> 00:41:48,966 has been adjusted to attract organisms. 874 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,133 This is a scale model of one. 875 00:41:51,166 --> 00:41:54,266 It's about half the size of what the actual armor units will be, 876 00:41:54,300 --> 00:41:56,300 four feet by four feet. 877 00:41:56,333 --> 00:41:58,633 One of the premises that we had 878 00:41:58,666 --> 00:42:01,700 was we have to actually restore the environment. 879 00:42:01,733 --> 00:42:04,233 Historic habitats, wetlands, 880 00:42:04,266 --> 00:42:06,500 oyster reefs have been decimated. 881 00:42:06,533 --> 00:42:10,133 Can we recreate that complex aquatic habitat, 882 00:42:10,166 --> 00:42:15,000 to really build back this environment? 883 00:42:15,033 --> 00:42:17,566 -I think the Living Breakwaters project is great. 884 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:18,966 It's something flexible. 885 00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:22,066 If the rocks don't work right there, you move the rocks 886 00:42:22,100 --> 00:42:24,100 or you make a new pile of rocks. 887 00:42:24,133 --> 00:42:26,166 Those strategies we can actually do 888 00:42:26,200 --> 00:42:28,466 and we can export them to other cities. 889 00:42:28,500 --> 00:42:30,366 There are opportunities and, you know, 890 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:31,933 there always gonna be surprises, 891 00:42:31,966 --> 00:42:33,766 like oysters on those breakwaters. 892 00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:35,533 Well, when the ocean is more acid, 893 00:42:35,566 --> 00:42:39,666 I don't know about oysters, but something will live on there. 894 00:42:39,700 --> 00:42:43,333 -People are looking for ways to buy time. 895 00:42:43,366 --> 00:42:46,833 -I'm not sure we can reverse it, but can we slow it down? 896 00:42:46,866 --> 00:42:48,466 Yes, I think we can slow it down. 897 00:42:48,500 --> 00:42:52,833 At least as far as the subway system and our commuter rails, 898 00:42:52,866 --> 00:42:56,000 I'm committed to make them as resilient as possible 899 00:42:56,033 --> 00:43:00,800 for what we can expect over the next 100 to next 200 years. 900 00:43:00,833 --> 00:43:04,166 -Right now we have about 104 subway entrances 901 00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:06,266 that we find that are critical facilities 902 00:43:06,300 --> 00:43:08,866 that are in the floodplain. 903 00:43:08,900 --> 00:43:12,333 We use flex gates, marine doors. 904 00:43:12,366 --> 00:43:14,200 -I call them submarine doors. 905 00:43:14,233 --> 00:43:16,766 They basically close each entranceway. 906 00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:20,200 They get locked in place, they're very heavy doors, 907 00:43:20,233 --> 00:43:23,333 each one weighs about 3,500 pounds. 908 00:43:23,366 --> 00:43:26,500 -These can be deployed in relatively quick time 909 00:43:26,533 --> 00:43:29,033 to prevent water from entering the subway system. 910 00:43:29,066 --> 00:43:31,100 These are stop logs. 911 00:43:31,133 --> 00:43:36,266 What happens is, these two beams get locked in place 912 00:43:36,300 --> 00:43:38,000 with these pins. 913 00:43:38,033 --> 00:43:39,333 They get locked in place 914 00:43:39,366 --> 00:43:41,766 and then as these logs are stacked, 915 00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:44,800 the pins slide into this beam 916 00:43:44,833 --> 00:43:49,033 and as they get stacked to the top... 917 00:43:51,333 --> 00:43:54,066 ...this whole area then becomes watertight. 918 00:43:54,100 --> 00:43:56,566 -Another innovation is an inflatable plug 919 00:43:56,600 --> 00:43:59,466 made of Kevlar and waterproof fabric. 920 00:43:59,500 --> 00:44:01,200 The plugs blow up like balloons 921 00:44:01,233 --> 00:44:03,266 to block tunnels against flooding. 922 00:44:03,300 --> 00:44:07,133 Made from the same materials as the airbags on the Mars rover, 923 00:44:07,166 --> 00:44:09,100 strong enough to cushion the spacecraft 924 00:44:09,133 --> 00:44:10,600 if it lands on rocks, 925 00:44:10,633 --> 00:44:13,966 these tough balloons fill up with 35,000 gallons of air 926 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:15,866 in just three minutes. 927 00:44:15,900 --> 00:44:18,900 But the airbags need to be perfectly packed and deployed 928 00:44:18,933 --> 00:44:21,266 to provide a watertight seal. 929 00:44:21,300 --> 00:44:23,166 -I don't think much of the plugs, 930 00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:25,166 those round balls that get filled up with air 931 00:44:25,200 --> 00:44:26,933 that will plug it and all of that. 932 00:44:26,966 --> 00:44:30,033 You need something a little bit better than some kind of plastic 933 00:44:30,066 --> 00:44:33,700 or polymer filled with air to be able to block the water. 934 00:44:33,733 --> 00:44:39,233 As we all know, water is extremely strong and powerful. 935 00:44:39,266 --> 00:44:41,500 -And at $400,000 each, 936 00:44:41,533 --> 00:44:43,400 the city decides they are too expensive 937 00:44:43,433 --> 00:44:46,933 to plug all 14 of their under-river subway tunnels. 938 00:44:46,966 --> 00:44:48,366 -It's very, very important 939 00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:51,166 that we recognize that climate change is real. 940 00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:52,533 And if you don't want to recognize 941 00:44:52,566 --> 00:44:53,900 that climate change is real, 942 00:44:53,933 --> 00:44:56,033 we do have to recognize the sheer fact 943 00:44:56,066 --> 00:44:58,366 that water seems to be rising. 944 00:44:58,400 --> 00:44:59,733 So, what do we do to mitigate that 945 00:44:59,766 --> 00:45:00,866 and what do we do to mitigate 946 00:45:00,900 --> 00:45:02,266 the risks that are involved in that 947 00:45:02,300 --> 00:45:04,066 so we can continue to operate? 948 00:45:04,100 --> 00:45:06,366 Are we better off than others? 949 00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:09,833 It's hard for me to know because I've not done a comparison, 950 00:45:09,866 --> 00:45:12,800 but I do know that we're a lot better off today 951 00:45:12,833 --> 00:45:14,500 than we were five years ago. 952 00:45:16,266 --> 00:45:18,966 -The new Whitney Museum in the Meatpacking District 953 00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:21,933 appears to be one of the most flood-resistant museums 954 00:45:21,966 --> 00:45:24,633 in the country and perhaps the world. 955 00:45:24,666 --> 00:45:26,966 It was built for the future, 956 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:28,300 designed to be resilient 957 00:45:28,333 --> 00:45:31,233 against rising sea levels and storm surge. 958 00:45:31,266 --> 00:45:34,666 Its loading dock is protected by a waterproof flood door, 959 00:45:34,700 --> 00:45:37,733 designed and built by naval engineers. 960 00:45:37,766 --> 00:45:40,433 The outer concrete wall was reinforced 961 00:45:40,466 --> 00:45:43,400 to become 100% waterproof. 962 00:45:43,433 --> 00:45:47,266 Like the subway, the museum also has a "stoplog system" -- 963 00:45:47,300 --> 00:45:50,000 a deployable barricade that can be installed 964 00:45:50,033 --> 00:45:54,533 in just eight hours in advance of an approaching storm. 965 00:45:54,566 --> 00:45:57,700 That doubles Sandy's storm surge height in Lower Manhattan -- 966 00:45:57,733 --> 00:46:01,833 but it's in line with future projections. 967 00:46:01,866 --> 00:46:04,200 Urban architect Vishaan Chakrabarti 968 00:46:04,233 --> 00:46:06,066 believes that the survival of New York 969 00:46:06,100 --> 00:46:08,166 depends on designs like the Whitney. 970 00:46:08,200 --> 00:46:11,133 It comes down to new buildings that can endure 971 00:46:11,166 --> 00:46:14,800 the inevitable rising water that's coming its way. 972 00:46:14,833 --> 00:46:17,200 -You make sure the building can flood, 973 00:46:17,233 --> 00:46:18,466 which means that you get 974 00:46:18,500 --> 00:46:20,600 all of the vulnerable mechanical equipment 975 00:46:20,633 --> 00:46:24,100 out of the basement. 976 00:46:24,133 --> 00:46:26,400 -We're in the west tower of the American Copper Buildings 977 00:46:26,433 --> 00:46:30,000 here on the East Side of Manhattan. 978 00:46:30,033 --> 00:46:34,166 This building is designed around the 100-year floodplain. 979 00:46:34,200 --> 00:46:36,466 Our elevators and our mechanical systems, 980 00:46:36,500 --> 00:46:38,533 our power service, our pumps... 981 00:46:38,566 --> 00:46:41,700 Those are all above that elevation. 982 00:46:41,733 --> 00:46:44,100 -You make sure that there's a generator in the building. 983 00:46:44,133 --> 00:46:45,700 It can't power the entire building, 984 00:46:45,733 --> 00:46:46,933 but it can power the elevators, 985 00:46:46,966 --> 00:46:49,933 it can power at least one outlet in every apartment 986 00:46:49,966 --> 00:46:52,900 so you can charge a cell phone, get information and so forth. 987 00:46:52,933 --> 00:46:54,933 Have at least enough light to live, 988 00:46:54,966 --> 00:46:56,766 maybe keep a refrigerator running. 989 00:46:56,800 --> 00:47:00,666 -We're up here on the 48th floor of the west tower. 990 00:47:00,700 --> 00:47:04,066 This should be our penthouse apartment. 991 00:47:04,100 --> 00:47:06,400 Sweeping views all over the city. 992 00:47:06,433 --> 00:47:08,900 King of the world type of apartment. 993 00:47:08,933 --> 00:47:14,166 Instead, we have two megawatts of emergency power. 994 00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:17,266 We decided we're gonna put the generators up here 995 00:47:17,300 --> 00:47:19,733 because by sacrificing the square feet up here, 996 00:47:19,766 --> 00:47:21,266 even though we'd be renting them 997 00:47:21,300 --> 00:47:24,566 for upwards of $130 or $150 a foot, 998 00:47:24,600 --> 00:47:29,333 we figured by not using those square feet as an apartment, 999 00:47:29,366 --> 00:47:31,500 we make all the rest of the square feet in the building 1000 00:47:31,533 --> 00:47:33,500 that much more valuable. 1001 00:47:33,533 --> 00:47:36,133 Even when there's no commercial power in this building, 1002 00:47:36,166 --> 00:47:38,566 you would be able to live here. 1003 00:47:40,366 --> 00:47:44,433 -Those basic things can actually dramatically change 1004 00:47:44,466 --> 00:47:46,500 what happens during a storm, 1005 00:47:46,533 --> 00:47:48,800 because if big buildings are equipped to do that, 1006 00:47:48,833 --> 00:47:51,600 you then don't have this massive exodus of people 1007 00:47:51,633 --> 00:47:54,133 who are trying to get out of their homes 1008 00:47:54,166 --> 00:47:56,733 with flooded streets, first responders, 1009 00:47:56,766 --> 00:47:59,200 all the other things that are happening simultaneously 1010 00:47:59,233 --> 00:48:00,966 with that crisis. 1011 00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:03,400 It's not a very high-tech set of solutions. 1012 00:48:03,433 --> 00:48:06,100 It's actually a fairly low-tech set of solutions. 1013 00:48:06,133 --> 00:48:09,600 -The lobby is built above the estimated high water mark 1014 00:48:09,633 --> 00:48:10,800 for flooding. 1015 00:48:10,833 --> 00:48:13,966 Even so, the building is designed to flood. 1016 00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:15,500 And when the water recedes, 1017 00:48:15,533 --> 00:48:16,766 the damage is minimal 1018 00:48:16,800 --> 00:48:19,700 and residents can go right back to their lives. 1019 00:48:19,733 --> 00:48:23,733 -What's unique about this lobby is the material selection. 1020 00:48:23,766 --> 00:48:28,100 The floor is stone, the walls are concrete, steel, and stone. 1021 00:48:28,133 --> 00:48:30,633 The portals are all steel 1022 00:48:30,666 --> 00:48:33,300 and the wood feature that we wanted in the lobby, 1023 00:48:33,333 --> 00:48:36,966 is set off the wall so that it's actually a vented system. 1024 00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:38,533 So if it ever did get wet, 1025 00:48:38,566 --> 00:48:42,566 we wouldn't be doing any sort of demolition and replacement. 1026 00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:45,333 The expectation is that eventually 1027 00:48:45,366 --> 00:48:46,566 something will happen, 1028 00:48:46,600 --> 00:48:49,200 and the building will get wet. 1029 00:48:49,233 --> 00:48:50,733 -Vishaan Chakrabarti has 1030 00:48:50,766 --> 00:48:53,800 his own megaproject under construction in Brooklyn, 1031 00:48:53,833 --> 00:48:56,366 one of the most ambitious and resilient plans 1032 00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:58,733 in the history of the five boroughs. 1033 00:48:58,766 --> 00:49:01,666 -Domino Park is a 3-million-square-foot 1034 00:49:01,700 --> 00:49:03,733 new neighborhood that's being built on the waterfront 1035 00:49:03,766 --> 00:49:05,000 in Brooklyn. 1036 00:49:05,033 --> 00:49:07,133 -Domino is a mixed-used development 1037 00:49:07,166 --> 00:49:11,400 with 2,800 condo units, 1/4 of them affordable housing. 1038 00:49:11,433 --> 00:49:14,300 Its main feature is a huge, six-acre park, 1039 00:49:14,333 --> 00:49:16,666 a quarter mile along the waterfront. 1040 00:49:16,700 --> 00:49:18,633 -We just went out to the community and we were very open 1041 00:49:18,666 --> 00:49:20,300 and honest with people and said, you know, "Look, 1042 00:49:20,333 --> 00:49:22,300 this needs to be more resilient." 1043 00:49:22,333 --> 00:49:25,900 And so, one of the first moves we had made 1044 00:49:25,933 --> 00:49:27,533 during the master-planning process 1045 00:49:27,566 --> 00:49:30,000 was to pull the buildings back from the water 1046 00:49:30,033 --> 00:49:32,100 and actually make a bigger park. 1047 00:49:32,133 --> 00:49:35,000 That resulted in more climate resilience in the long term 1048 00:49:35,033 --> 00:49:37,700 because that park has a tremendous amount 1049 00:49:37,733 --> 00:49:38,900 of porous surface -- 1050 00:49:38,933 --> 00:49:42,633 grass, plant material that will take on water. 1051 00:49:42,666 --> 00:49:45,366 So what happens is, when a storm hits, 1052 00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:48,066 it will both slow the energy of the storm 1053 00:49:48,100 --> 00:49:50,766 and absorb like a sponge a lot of the water 1054 00:49:50,800 --> 00:49:52,700 that's coming into the community. 1055 00:49:52,733 --> 00:49:55,666 It's also designed with a natural grade of the land 1056 00:49:55,700 --> 00:49:57,033 so when the storm recedes, 1057 00:49:57,066 --> 00:50:00,100 the water will recede back into the river more quickly. 1058 00:50:00,133 --> 00:50:03,733 -The buildings will also have office and retail space, 1059 00:50:03,766 --> 00:50:06,966 so many residents can stay put through a storm surge. 1060 00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:10,433 -Domino is it's an interesting model to really think about 1061 00:50:10,466 --> 00:50:13,133 how you build in the world that we're gonna be living in 1062 00:50:13,166 --> 00:50:14,733 in the next 100 years or so 1063 00:50:14,766 --> 00:50:17,700 in terms of flooding and sea level rise. 1064 00:50:17,733 --> 00:50:20,366 -Developers and the City now work together 1065 00:50:20,400 --> 00:50:23,500 to harden New York against the rising sea. 1066 00:50:23,533 --> 00:50:25,033 This might prevent incidents 1067 00:50:25,066 --> 00:50:27,766 such as the transformer explosion in Lower Manhattan, 1068 00:50:27,800 --> 00:50:31,000 during Sandy... -Oh [bleep]! 1069 00:50:31,033 --> 00:50:34,533 -...that left 200,000 people without power, heat or light. 1070 00:50:34,566 --> 00:50:36,266 -Our electric grid now has the benefit of 1071 00:50:36,300 --> 00:50:38,133 an additional billion dollars of hardening 1072 00:50:38,166 --> 00:50:39,366 that has been placed into the grid 1073 00:50:39,400 --> 00:50:42,033 to make sure the lights stay on the next time. 1074 00:50:42,066 --> 00:50:44,033 We're dealing with a very complex set of new projects. 1075 00:50:44,066 --> 00:50:45,366 They've never been done before. 1076 00:50:45,400 --> 00:50:48,566 First of its kind in such a dense urban environment 1077 00:50:48,600 --> 00:50:51,566 and we're moving them as quickly as we can. 1078 00:50:51,600 --> 00:50:53,133 I'm hopeful about New York's future 1079 00:50:53,166 --> 00:50:55,333 because of the ability that New Yorkers have shown 1080 00:50:55,366 --> 00:50:57,666 to adapt to any number of challenges 1081 00:50:57,700 --> 00:50:59,800 over its nearly 400-year history. 1082 00:50:59,833 --> 00:51:01,800 We're gonna be here, we're gonna work with the threats, 1083 00:51:01,833 --> 00:51:05,233 we're gonna adapt and this is gonna be a thriving city. 1084 00:51:05,266 --> 00:51:07,066 -Many will defend, 1085 00:51:07,100 --> 00:51:09,466 but some will be forced to retreat. 1086 00:51:09,500 --> 00:51:12,766 That is New York City's inevitable future. 1087 00:51:12,800 --> 00:51:15,466 -I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all answer 1088 00:51:15,500 --> 00:51:17,833 to whether we should build or not in the floodplain. 1089 00:51:17,866 --> 00:51:20,133 There's hundreds of thousands of people in New York City 1090 00:51:20,166 --> 00:51:22,033 that live in floodplains. 1091 00:51:22,066 --> 00:51:24,566 And I think there are probably some cases where 1092 00:51:24,600 --> 00:51:25,966 it just simply doesn't make sense, 1093 00:51:26,000 --> 00:51:27,266 where it's not just a floodplain, 1094 00:51:27,300 --> 00:51:29,366 it's a highly vulnerable floodplain. 1095 00:51:29,400 --> 00:51:31,866 Retreat, in that instance, might make sense. 1096 00:51:31,900 --> 00:51:33,466 -What this means for the future, 1097 00:51:33,500 --> 00:51:35,466 it means seawall or levy protections, 1098 00:51:35,500 --> 00:51:36,900 storm-surge barriers. 1099 00:51:36,933 --> 00:51:39,833 Or the city could encourage more building 1100 00:51:39,866 --> 00:51:41,133 in population on higher ground 1101 00:51:41,166 --> 00:51:43,166 and do things to try to discourage 1102 00:51:43,200 --> 00:51:46,366 or buy people out who are in these low-lying flooded areas. 1103 00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:49,100 -There are some clear statistics out there 1104 00:51:49,133 --> 00:51:51,500 that for every dollar we invest in risk reduction 1105 00:51:51,533 --> 00:51:55,200 that there's a $4 avoided future cost. 1106 00:51:55,233 --> 00:51:58,066 Sandy was a $19-billion event 1107 00:51:58,100 --> 00:52:00,433 in terms of damages and lost economic activity. 1108 00:52:00,466 --> 00:52:02,466 From the risks of climate change, 1109 00:52:02,500 --> 00:52:05,800 that same event in the 2050s could be a $90-billion event. 1110 00:52:05,833 --> 00:52:08,200 -I think we have to prepare for the unexpected 1111 00:52:08,233 --> 00:52:12,000 and what that means is, how do you create a city 1112 00:52:12,033 --> 00:52:16,866 that can recover from any number of tough things happening to it, 1113 00:52:16,900 --> 00:52:19,633 whether it's a flood or a tornado or a terrorist attack. 1114 00:52:19,666 --> 00:52:22,500 Cities are vulnerable, cities have always been vulnerable. 1115 00:52:22,533 --> 00:52:25,133 Cities also have this extraordinary way 1116 00:52:25,166 --> 00:52:27,766 of being resilient and building back. 1117 00:52:27,800 --> 00:52:31,366 And so to me, it's always about the basics -- 1118 00:52:31,400 --> 00:52:37,233 mobility, power, water. 1119 00:52:37,266 --> 00:52:40,433 Fixing this is not rocket science. Right? 1120 00:52:40,466 --> 00:52:42,800 It's simply a question of will. 1121 00:52:45,433 --> 00:52:48,133 -Urban engineering will be the determining factor 1122 00:52:48,166 --> 00:52:52,600 in just how New York faces its next great challenge. 1123 00:52:52,633 --> 00:52:56,200 It's a transformation that has to happen if it is to survive, 1124 00:52:56,233 --> 00:52:59,533 and even thrive, when the water comes. 1125 00:52:59,566 --> 00:53:04,533 -We have the situation that about 1 million more people 1126 00:53:04,566 --> 00:53:08,766 are expected to move to New York City 1127 00:53:08,800 --> 00:53:11,966 by the year 2030. 1128 00:53:12,000 --> 00:53:15,800 In addition, waterfront is still considered 1129 00:53:15,833 --> 00:53:19,333 the most desirable real estate, 1130 00:53:19,366 --> 00:53:22,900 which is a notion from the past 1131 00:53:22,933 --> 00:53:25,666 that doesn't hold for the future. 1132 00:53:25,700 --> 00:53:28,000 -If we're really going to adapt to climate change, 1133 00:53:28,033 --> 00:53:31,066 it's about behavior change, it's about us all thinking about 1134 00:53:31,100 --> 00:53:33,833 living with water differently. 1135 00:53:33,866 --> 00:53:37,866 And being willing to change and adapt over time. 1136 00:53:37,900 --> 00:53:40,466 -This is our home, and we want to keep it our home 1137 00:53:40,500 --> 00:53:42,033 and we want it to be a home for our children 1138 00:53:42,066 --> 00:53:43,566 and our grandchildren as well. 1139 00:53:43,600 --> 00:53:46,700 So, now's the time to start dealing with the problem. 1140 00:53:46,733 --> 00:53:50,033 -And I think if we do that, this city, 1141 00:53:50,066 --> 00:53:52,166 which is one of the greatest cities in the world, 1142 00:53:52,200 --> 00:53:55,200 will continue to be for a long, long time. 1143 00:54:02,466 --> 00:54:03,866 -Next time on "Sinking Cities"... 1144 00:54:03,900 --> 00:54:05,700 -Tokyo is like the Rolls-Royce of city and engineering. 1145 00:54:05,733 --> 00:54:08,466 It has most of the high-tech system 1146 00:54:08,500 --> 00:54:09,966 that you can find in the world. 1147 00:54:10,000 --> 00:54:12,166 ♪♪ 1148 00:54:12,200 --> 00:54:14,100 -Even though we have been trying our best, 1149 00:54:14,133 --> 00:54:15,533 I don't think we can say 1150 00:54:15,566 --> 00:54:17,566 that we are fully prepared for disasters. 1151 00:54:17,600 --> 00:54:20,500 -If you start to have a major flood on Tokyo, 1152 00:54:20,533 --> 00:54:22,000 we all going to pay. 1153 00:54:22,033 --> 00:54:25,033 -[ Speaking Japanese ] 1154 00:54:25,066 --> 00:54:27,400 -Tokyo is defenseless against such rainfall. 1155 00:54:27,433 --> 00:54:30,533 [ Indistinct shouting ] 1156 00:54:31,900 --> 00:54:39,766 ♪♪ 1157 00:54:39,800 --> 00:54:42,066 -To order "Sinking Cities" on DVD, 1158 00:54:42,100 --> 00:54:44,100 visit ShopPBS 1159 00:54:44,133 --> 00:54:47,166 or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS. 1160 00:54:47,200 --> 00:54:48,900 This program is also available 1161 00:54:48,933 --> 00:54:50,700 on Amazon Prime Video. 1162 00:54:50,733 --> 00:55:00,466 ♪♪