All Climate Change Is Local
Researchers at Harvard GSD are engaged in a climate adaptation project which will span several years and explore potential impacts to Massachusetts' Cape Ann, one of the state's most vulnerable regions
By Jonathan Shaw, Harvard Magazine
Within the United States, coastal areas host the densest populations—and are also the most vulnerable to climate change. Rising seas and intensifying storms are just the beginning, say planners at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design (GSD), who expect climate change to “ultimately transform the cultural landscapes, housing, transportation, public services, and economies” of coastal communities, according to a newsletter from the GSD’s Office for Urbanization. The School of Design is engaged in a multiyear climate-adaptation project exploring potential impacts to one exemplary coastal region of Massachusetts: Cape Ann, a rocky peninsula 30 miles northeast of Boston that includes the city of Gloucester. As part of the project—undertaken in collaboration with the Cape Ann Climate Coalition, TownGreen 2025, Water Alliance, the City of Gloucester, and the Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea—the GSD is hosting a series of talks on strategies for adapting to climate change.