Assessing the exposure of buildings to long-term sea level rise across the Global South
Willard-Stepan, M. (University of Victoria)
Gomez, N. (McGill University)
Cardille, J. A. (McGill University)
Galbraith, Eric (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Bennett, E. M. (McGill University)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	Future sea levels are expected to rise, resulting in the progressive inundation of coastal cities. Because the spatio-temporal progression of this inundation is complex, few estimates have been made of how sea level rise will impact specific features of the built environment beyond 2100. Here we provide a first-order assessment of the exposure of buildings to sea level rise from satellite observation in Africa, Southeast Asia, and South and Central America. We define an inundation metric as a function of Local Sea Level Rise (LSLR) and consider this metric across a wide range of possible multi-century LSLR Values. Of the 840 million buildings in the study region, we find ~3. 0 million at risk of inundation with 0. 5 m LSLR, increasing to ~45 million with 5 m LSLR, and ~136 million with 20 m LSLR. Our results highlight geographic variability in exposure and demonstrate the benefits that low-emissions pathways imply for preserving built environments.
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Published in:	npj Urban Sustainability, Vol. 5 (August 2025) , art. 72, ISSN 2661-8001

DOI: 10.1038/s42949-025-00259-z

7 p, 1.1 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles