5 ms·
This is something I wonder about often as well. Why are all these coastal cities constantly being pumped full of money in the form of new building and real esta
by oddtuple 5y ago
This is something I wonder about often as well. Why are all these coastal cities constantly being pumped full of money in the form of new building and real estate ventures when the forecasts show how risky of a long term investment it is? Sure, you can gain some short term profits, but these investments are being made by large banks with access to data on what these investments will look like _over decades_.
Are people just planning on sea walls, dikes, and other mega projects to deal with shifting coastlines? I can understand it for certain financially entrenched areas like New York City, but still... we're talking 10s - 100's of Billions in infrastructure to preserve these cities.
The cities themselves have an existential threat, one which they _have_ to throw money at to solve. It's the outside investors who _also_ throw money at these areas with the knowledge that _their_ investment requires these mega projects to pan out when there are other less risky investments that I find so mind boggling.
- oceanplexian 5y agoProbably the same reason so many politicians and wealthy tech entrepreneurs (e.g. Zuckerberg) are buying waterfront property. Sea level rise is a lot of hype and not a lot of substance. If it were such a big deal all the coastal cities in the US would have already been wiped out every time there was a windy day and 1-3ft sea swells.
- steelstraw 5y agoPerhaps a useful narrative to reduce competition for coastal real estate.
- ch4s3 5y ago> Are people just planning on sea walls, dikes, and other mega projects to deal with shifting coastlines? Yes. Miami is actively planning for higher sea levels and funding that adaptation with new development.
- dhimes 5y agoSame with Boston. If not actually planning, then at least discussing.
- unionpivo 5y agobecause if you are developer corporation you don't care. You build where people and money currently are. Once you build it and sell it it's somebody else problem.
- CamperBob2 5y agoCounterpoint: If you're a developer and your projects are uninsurable, that is your problem. You're not going to be a developer for very long if that's the case. And apparently it's not the case.
- unionpivo 5y agosure, my point is, developers build where money and people are now. They don't care, like most corporations don't care what will happen in 50 years time.