Green or Grey? Yes.
Anvaya Cove, Subic Bay, Philippines. ©AECOM photo by David Lloyd.
“We live in a world of polarity day and night, man and woman, positive and negative. Light and darkness need each other. They are a balance.”
With that said, striking a balance in our response to natural disasters seems to be the most logical way to mitigate risks and reduce devastating effects in the future.
While some experts favor the notion (particularly in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy) that we should not attempt do anything with dykes and draining but leave the beaches alone to replenish themselves over the generations to come, others believe that the only viable response to potential future storms is to design and construct storm surge barriers.
In the June edition of Environmental Leader, Gary Lawrence, AECOM’s chief sustainability officer, offers his perspective on green versus grey and an allegory from Mayan culture. Read the article here.
Jolene Libretto (jolene.libretto@aecom.com) is an editor for the Connected Cities blog.