Opinion piece urges rethinking urban design for climate resilience
Dr. Rob Moir argues in a guest opinion that climate change intensifies storms and flooding through warmer air and impervious urban surfaces. He calls for reconnecting with natural land and water cycles to build resilient cities. Solutions like permeable pavements and rain gardens could mitigate risks.
Climate change is altering storm patterns, with the atmosphere holding about 7 percent more moisture for every 1°C of warming, leading to fiercer bursts of rain over shorter intervals. As described by Dr. Rob Moir, president of the Ocean River Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, urban heat islands—created by asphalt and concrete—exacerbate this by absorbing and radiating heat, drawing moisture from soil and priming the atmosphere for destructive events.
Moir explains a paradox: while some areas dry out, others face catastrophic flooding because hardscapes replace natural absorbers like forests and wetlands. 'Four inches of living soil can drink in seven inches of rain,' he notes, highlighting how healthy, deep-rooted plants and soil microbes form a sponge that binds particles with glomalin, nature's glue. Yet, stormwater runoff over impervious surfaces carries heat and pollutants to rivers and oceans, strengthening currents like the Gulf Stream and warming distant regions, including the Arctic.
This runoff threatens low-lying neighborhoods, displacing residents, especially low-income communities, and straining infrastructure despite investments in drainage. Moir draws on history, citing ancient Babylon's channels and terraces that harnessed floods for growth. Today, he advocates modern adaptations: permeable pavements, rain gardens, restored wetlands, and green roofs to capture water, recharge aquifers, and cool cities.
Skepticism about these solutions is understandable amid profound changes, but Moir emphasizes incremental actions—nurturing soil, planting, and advocating for green infrastructure—as key to resilience. 'The earth is not merely a backdrop to human endeavor—it is a living, dynamic partner,' he writes, urging a reconnection with land and water rhythms to turn the tide on climate impacts.