Sea Level Stories: a mobile community planning hub for climate adaptation

Sea Level Stories is an interactive mobile community hub for climate change engagement, planning & action.

Long Description

Sea Level Stories is a mobile, interactive community hub that cultivates grassroots support for climate adaptation planning. A multi-sensory exploration of what the world could be like in 200 years, the project serves as a collective space for processing concerns about our changing climate & creating more grassroots engagement in how we plan & prepare for our future.

The format is a trailer retrofitted as a living room from the year 2200. By walking inside, visitors land 200 years in the future, when sea levels have risen roughly 25 ft & the world is a warmer place. They land in the living room of an urban designer who is renting them the use of her apartment, which comes with objects useful for navigating the future, including canoes & inflatable water wings for coastal areas, dry shampoo & air filtration masks for inland regions. All objects come with interactive audio instructions.

Walls are decorated with screens showing images & maps of how the region in which Sea Level Stories is installed has changed from centuries past to the “present” (the year 2200). Books & pamphlets detailing changes on the site are provided. Images, maps, books & pamphlets of changing conditions are researched & designed for each site, so that depicted scenarios are connected to individual communities.

Before leaving, visitors are asked to share reflections on climate change & listen to those left by others. They’re also invited to answer questions on their feelings about shifting climates and their visions of the ideal city. People can record responses via audio, on paper or in drawings. Answers feed into Sea Level Stories‘ database on public perceptions of climate change across different communities. Interested users are connected with local organizations & individuals with whom they can expand on their ideas.

By contextualizing predicted climate impacts as a given rather than a question, the project cultivates a dialogue that is more about embracing change rather than fearing the unknown.