Design challenge brings together art and science to help change how Vancouverites think about sea-level rise

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During an event earlier this month, writers from four coastal cities Vancouver, New York, Mumbai and Tokyo typed out their thoughtsaboutthe prospect of rising sea levels.

Their words were projected on a large screen in Vancouver's Olympic Village, and a youth choir sangthem out to the public.

In addition, a photography project on display showed howresidents imagine they may be impacted by rising sea levels in and around False Creek.

The choir and photography werepart of an event markingthe end of the first phase of the Sea2City Design Challenge, a City of Vancouverproject that aims to look at how the city can adapt to rising sea levels particularly in the False Creek floodplain and address the social, economic and ecological impacts coastal flooding will have in the future.

LISTEN | CBC'sJohanna Wagstaffe onthe Sea2City Design Challenge

9:36CLIMATE CHANGERS: A design challenge to help deal with sea level rise

Sea levels are rising in response to climate change. For coastal communities, that means preparing today for what tomorrow could bring. CBC's Johanna Wagstaffe brings us the story of the Sea2City Design Challenge in Vancouver.

Angela Danyluk, a biologist and senior sustainability officer with the city, saysart can be a great way to connect with the public on the issue of climate change.

"You don't need to know all the stats behind climate change, but you do know how you feel about your relationship with the coast," Danyluk said.

Danylukdescribed theSea2City Design Challenge asa friendly competition between two design teams that began last September.

When it comes to adaptingto sea-level rise, Danyluk says,designers often think in one of three ways:resist bykeeping water away, accommodateby letting water in according to risk tolerance, and avoidby getting out of water's way altogether.

But changingthe language around sea-level risecan help people think differently about their relationship to the water, she says.

"'Resist'became 'acknowledge', 'accommodate' became 'host', 'move' and 'avoid' became 'restore' restoring our relationshipwith the water, the land and with each other," she said.

Chuck McDowellof Mithun+One, one of the groups participatingin the challenge,saystheir designs were deeply influenced by conversations with Indigenouscultural advisers and knowledge keepers, whospoke ofhow the land was once akin to a"traditional grocery store" filled with plant life and sea life.

He saysthere are plenty of issues that needto be addressed to bring back that natural plethora, such aswatershed issuesand the need to implementgreen infrastructure.

"There's a lot of work to do tomake it happen, but bringing back that idea ofnatural abundance is really important to us," McDowellsaid.

Danyluk saysnow that the first phase of the design project is complete, they hopeto present two tothreepilot projects that can beimplemented in FalseCreek over the next fourto 10 years.

She saysthe city can look across Burrard Inlet for inspiration.

"It's funny, weall go to the North Shore on the weekend to be in the forest and it's full of cedar trees," she said. "Why can't we have cedar trees here in the city?"

LISTEN | How ready is Vancouver's False Creek for sea-level rise?

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time. In B.C. we've witnessed its impacts with deadly heat waves, destructive floods and rampant wildfires.But there are people who are committed to taking meaningful strides, both big and small, towardbuilding a better future for our planet. Those people are featured in CBC's seriesThe Climate Changers, produced by CBC science reporter and meteorologistJohanna Wagstaffeand associate producerRohit Joseph, which airs Wednesdays onAll Points West,On The CoastandRadio Weston CBC Radio One and onCBC Vancouver Newswith features oncbc.ca/bc.