Overview and Background

The At the Water’s Edge initiative, launched in 2022, brought together Columbia University faculty, Obama Foundation Scholars, undergraduate Social Impact Fellows, practitioners from government, firms, community organizations and artists. The group discussed experiences where local governance for water and land climate adaptation practices shift towards equity, climate planning and policy shifts, research pathways connected to local action, and ways for CWP and its partners to catalyze change and innovation. 

Summary

An estimated 1.8 billion people currently live at risk of flooding from rivers, rising sea levels, and storms. Flooding, often exacerbated by climate change, is one of the largest-scale disasters impacting cities, and it is particularly a threat for vulnerable communities. Urban flooding exemplifies many of the toughest challenges facing cities, and governance processes that engage and include all voices in co-creating plans and implementation is essential.

Between June and October 2022, CWP convened a series of meetings focused on this issue. In partnership with the Columbia Climate School, the Columbia Water Center, the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes, and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, the series brought together experts to explore inclusive models for flood adaptation and water governance.

Participants underscored the urgency to act, and act in ways inclusive of those most affected by water governance decisions. Themes raised include the value in exchanging organizing tactics between networks in enduring ways, the need to capture contexts and stories that include local voices, and advancing a new approach to ownership and stewardship for bodies of water and lands adjacent to water. 

These convenings were part of a broader engagement on urban governance and inclusion around flooding led by CWP and its partners. An event marking the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Sandy in New York immediately followed the At Water’s Edge gatherings. Together with with the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation; Columbia Climate School, the Center for Sustainable Urban Development, Environmental Justice and Climate Just Cities Network, Resilient Cities Catalyst, and the Red Hook Initiative, conversations reflected on equity outcomes and lessons learned in the post-hurricane period. 

Capturing insights from these convenings, CWP’s report, At Water’s Edge: Transformative Local Action for Flood Response and Climate Adaptation was published in November 2023. It details strategies for more inclusive, equitable, and effective water governance, highlighting instances of water management challenges faced by communities in New Zealand, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Mexico and New Orleans and emphasizing locally-borne solutions that center community participation in governance processes.