Abstract
The following research project proposes a model whereby the biological arrangement of plants in space and over time can lead to a new paradigm using the modification of coastal ecologies, to move beyond restoration, ultimately dissolving the limiting dichotomy between green and grey infrastructure.
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Notes
- 1.
I borrow the term nostalgia from Svetlana Boym in The Future of Nostalgia, where she differentiates between nostalgia as a state-building initiative as opposed to a personal project. With this in mind, I propose that restoration is used nostalgically as means to restore the greatness of former ecologies, rather than focus on its transitions or the negative impact of human influence, sanctioning the funds for a construction project rather than initiating a change in behavior: “What is crucial is that nostalgia was not merely an expression of local longing, but a result of a new understanding of time and space that made the division into “local” and “universal” possible. The nostalgic creature has internalized this division, but instead of aspiring for the universal and the progressive he looks backward and yearns for the particular.”
- 2.
Ongoing conversations with director of restoration at ‘Save the Bay,’ Wenley Ferguson, reinforce this local frustration. See also SAMP reports such as: http://www.beachsamp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Rhode-Island-Sea-Level-Affecting-Marshes-Model-Technical-Report-11.pdf (accessed March 12, 2016).
- 3.
The Bay extends approximately 45 km along this north-south axis, reaches 18 km at its widest point, and covers an area of 342 km2. For more details on Bay dynamics: http://www.savebay.org/bayfacts.
- 4.
With particular appreciation to Wenley Ferguson (Ecologist, Save the Bay) and Janet Friedman (Coastal geologist), at CRMC for leading numerous site visits.
- 5.
In the case of Rhode Island, that scale of subsidence would result in a significant area of land loss, up to 20% of its total land area.
- 6.
- 7.
This speculation is based on conversations between the author, Dr. Del Tredici and Grover Fugate at a meeting in June 2014 at ‘Save the Bay,’ Providence, Rhode Island.
- 8.
W. Skeat in A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language first defined the term. (Oxford: Claredon 1882) The origin is traced by the Latin root resilire, which translates to ‘leap back’. Subsequent to this, it is defined by The Oxford Advanced Dictionary (2016) as the “ability (of a person or animal) to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.” A clear modification from its original application and principle etymology.
- 9.
See Purdy, J. After Nature: A Politics for the Anthropocene. Cambridge: Harvard, 2015 (11).
- 10.
Plant lists developed in collaboration with Dr. Peter Del Tredici (see appendix).
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Acknowledgements
This project was originally developed as part of SCR: Structures of Coastal Resilience, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation. With particular thanks to Michael J. Luegering for his collaboration. For team assembly, consultants and more information, see: Structures of Coastal Resilience: www.structuresofcoastalresilience.org.
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Elkin, R.S. (2017). Beyond Restoration: Planting Coastal Infrastructure. In: Leal Filho, W., Keenan, J. (eds) Climate Change Adaptation in North America. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53742-9_8
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