In the last century, the Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) has risen between 4-8 inches. Alarmingly, in the past 20 years the GMSL has risen .13 inches alone. What does this mean for our future? Though predicting future rises in sea level is not an exact science, recent studies suggest anywhere from 2.5-6.5 feet rise in sea level may be seen by 2100. If the Greenland ice sheet melts completely, sea level may rise to 23 feet. With the almost inevitable GMSL rise, our major coastal cities will be impacted if not completely destroyed. (http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-sea-level-rise/)
Many cities such
as San Francisco and New York are considering a long-term adaptive planning by
utilizing a “managed retreat” approach to city planning. Part of this city
planning includes deciding which lands to abandon or “return to nature” and
which lands to protect by levies and seawalls. While steps to retreat cities
away from waterways will be a necessity, it will be costly and will meet an
enormous amount of public resistance. When these changes do take place, who will
be protected? Who will benefit? Which communities are rebuilt after storms? How
do citizens of “return to nature” areas compensated and where do they go?
Though none of these questions have current answers, one thing is for sure:
poor people are going to bear the brunt of it. They always have. Take Hurricane
Katrina for example. An already drastically segregated city, New Orleans have
seen a loss of 100,000 residents as of 2010 (80% of which were black) and
rebuilding efforts were drastically different between public and private
funding resulting in an even more segregated communities (most of which were
black).
Money makes the world go 'round. That is an undeniable truth. The gap between the rich and poor will only widen in the upcoming future. It is up to us to make sure those less fortunate are taken care of. Though no one
knows exactly what the future will bring, it is going to rest on the shoulders
of this generation not only to account for the impacts of global warming but to
also ensure social equity to all those directly impacted by it. 
Rising sea levels are a major concern for coastal cities, and unfortunately it doesn't seem like much change is happening despite the severe damage huge storms like Katrina have had. I really think that this issue is going to become a hot topic as people realize that the old traditions of building right along waterfronts may be at one's own risk. Also, I feel that coastal cities need to develop viable plans to aid those people who can't afford to protect themselves from unnecessary risk.
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