London Rising

Rising water levels are a real concern for large areas around the world close to he sea. The treads posed by the water are many, with tsunami waves as recently occurred in Japan following the devastating earthquake or simple flooding due to a combination of heavy rain and a storm.

In London this second scenario is a real concern and could potentially effet vast areas along the river Thames. The current water defence infrastructure in place is very soon to be out of date and needs replacement with a refreshed strategy on how to deal with potentially massive water masses moving in. The problem of course sharply rises together with every centimeter of sea level rise.

Image taken from the londonist

Extensive scenarios have been drawn out, both in terms of planning and post apocalyptic visionary.

An interesting visualisation here is using the tube maps as a reference point going back in history and projecting the changes in the nature of the river in to a possible future. The animation both introduces the Thames as a reference point, but at the same time highlights the river as a constant element of negotiation. This taking place both over time in real world with building project and through out usage, but also graphically in terms of its representation as part of the most iconic of maps, the London Tube Map.