What’s the context?
How growing battles over real estate development and flood risk are playing out in one community on the U.S. East Coast
- Officials mull new development near downtown Wilmington, NC
- Coastal areas in U.S. to face increased sea level rise, flooding
- Americans moving toward climate-risky spots
WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Robert Parr drove his white pickup truck near a set of new buildings near the beachfront in New Hanover County, North Carolina – an area he says is prone to flooding.
“That’s crazy. That never should have gone in here,” he told Context, referring to new development blocks away from the U.S. East Coast.
“Whenever I get on the phone with the county, usually within 30 days we have significant flooding,” said the former oceanographer, after opening a presentation and flicking through slides of flooded roads and areas around the region.
The burgeoning county has faced a barrage of recent storms and is at major risk of flooding again over the next 30 years, according to First Street Foundation, a climate risk tracking group.
Parr and other activists are racing to prevent another major development on an approximately eight-acre patch of land farther north, across from downtown Wilmington, in a spot uniquely prone to flooding.
Precisely how to build in floodplains and areas most at risk from climate change amid continued population growth is an issue U.S. officials are grappling with as people and developers move into – not away from –…
