Boston and the Sea

Boston was lucky that Hurricane Sandy did not do much damage. In fact, there was a good side to Sandy for Boston. It got them thinking about the predicted rise in sea level of up to 6 feet by 2100. 

One of their thoughts is to build a network of canals, ala Venice or Amsterdam. The canals would criss-cross the streets of the Back Bay - a neighborhood which was actually a tidal bay before it began to be filled in and built on 150 years ago. The hope is that the network would make the historic district even more attractive, if it works. 

The planners do not have their heads in a barrel. They know that Boston has a much larger range in tides that Venice or Amsterdam. Thus, "the canals would be either high part of the time or low part of the time. So we would have to decide whether they would be really deep or tidal." They are also looking at a more conventional solution by shoring up the foundations of Back Bay houses and make sure important infrastructure, such as electrical and mechanical equipment, was lifted up above the likely level of any flooding.

A vision of Clarendon Street