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Crosscurrents

Will $21 billion worth of development around the Bay stand up to sea level rise?

Kevin Stark found 27 proposals for major construction projects that could be flooded in decades due to climate change.

Scientists project that the level of the water in the San Francisco Bay will rise three feet by the end of this century. That’s a conservative estimate - storm surges and extremely high tides could bring that number up to eight feet. This encroaching water poses a threat to existing developments and to future ones. In its latest investigation, the San Francisco Public Press examined the plans for more than 21 billion dollars worth of incoming development around the Bay. They wanted to find out whether cities are thinking about these rising tides when approving the housing, offices complexes and stadiums coming to a waterfront near you. Kevin Stark, the San Francisco Public Press reporter who led the investigation, spoke with KALW’s Audrey Dilling to share his findings.

KEVIN STARK: We have filled the Bay to a third of its original size, and with sea level rise it’s going to return to that except for now we have cities in all of these places.

Click here to view the interactive map of major construction projects that could be flooded in decades due to climate change. Read the complete San Francisco Public Press report on sea level rise and waterfront development, "Building on the Bay," here.

Crosscurrents