Futureproof: Sea Level Rise and eVTOLs Reshape Coastal Cities
eVTOLs continue to play a vital role in reshaping the skylines of the world’s largest cities by ushering in the vertical takeoff and landing facilities.
FUTURE NARRATIVE /
When they started modifying the city’s coastline in 2021 to accommodate rising sea levels, I knew it was just the beginning. The continued rise of sea levels has redefined our streets, and the increase in EVTOL travel has reshaped the urban landscape of our metropolis.
Today, innovative, adaptable street-level structures are helping to futureproof the city against rising sea levels. At the same time, our building's upper floors extend outward and are increasingly interconnected by new skywalks.
Height-adjustable highways are now appearing across many coastal cities, futureproofing ground traffic infrastructure against future sea level rise.
EVTOLs are reshaping the skyline as landing platforms become vital transportation hubs, providing new opportunities to interlink buildings above street level.
TECHNOLOGY /
Battery technology for sustained eVTOL flights continues to develop.
Autonomous eVTOL flight and aircraft avoidance technologies will streamline dense, local air travel.
Lightweighting of building materials may allow cities to invert the location of most travel, lifting the burden from a single-dimensional ground plane to one atop city skyscrapers.
IMPLICATIONS /
Advances in building technologies, aerial mobility, and climate change may dramatically reshape our city skylines. As sea level rise forces coastal cities to relinquish much of their usable ground-level real estate, they must begin implementing plans to mitigate sea level rise and enhance the resilience of their infrastructure. Part of these plans may include moving more inner-city transport upward by leveraging eVTOL aircraft and sky ports atop city skyscrapers.
RELATED CONCEPTS AND RESEARCH /
Futureproof is a series of occasional provocations illustrating possible future paths for technology and culture. Think postcards from the future.
