Translating the Netherlands Flood Resilience Insights in the American Context

Presenter: Tharika Lecamwasam

Faculty Sponsor: Elisabeth Infield

School: UMass Amherst

Research Area: Architecture and Urban Planning

Session: Poster Session 4, 2:15 PM - 3:00 PM, Auditorium, A60

ABSTRACT

Although Boston, Mas is considered an innovative hub for technology, the city still struggles with flood resiliency. Boston averages 15 high flooding events a year, and this number is expected to increase to 50 events per year by 2050 (Ruhalter and Rath 2024). On the other hand, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, is considered to be an international frontrunner in flood resiliency because of its innovative climate adaptation strategies. Many studies have observed Boston’s flood resiliency planning and also understood how Rotterdam’s flood resilience compares to other cities. However, there is little research on how Rotterdam and Boston’s flood resilience plans compare to each other and how each city can learn from each other. This paper will analyze both Boston and Rotterdam’s climate adaptation strategies. To conduct the comparative analysis of the climate action plans, there will be (1) a binary coding approach to understand key indicators that are present and absent in each plan and (2) a qualitative analysis of reading and recognizing to identify the key components and differences of the strategies. The results of this study will provide an in-depth understanding of how Rotterdam and Boston can learn from each other's climate action strategies.

RELATED ABSTRACTS