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by Ken Conca (Author)
One small town, two "thousand-year floods" in the span of two years: how does a community become resilient in the face of the ever-increasing risks of climate change?
Small towns across America and around the world face mounting challenges with flood risk, a result of not only climate change but also poorly adapted landscapes, sprawl, overdevelopment and poor planning. After the Floods is about Ellicott City, a small town in central Maryland that experienced two devastating flash floods just 22 months apart. Despite the town's many advantages--wealth, access to expertise, a mobilized community, and a stout identity steeped in 250 years of history--Ellicott City found itself mired in a deeply divisive argument over what to do in the aftermath. As a resident, Ken Conca bore firsthand witness to the conflict that took root when the flood waters receded. While this book is about one residential suburb, the dilemmas that it faces over how to adapt to climate change are coming soon to a small town near you. On one level a story about re-engineering a landscape, After the Floods ultimately grapples with uncertainty over local history, justice, democracy, and identity. What can we know about future risks to our communities? What is the meaning of place and history when preservation goals come into conflict with flood protection? What should we protect? Who gets to speak for the community? In Ellicott City's search for answers, we can find important lessons for other small communities that must begin preparing for future climate risks.Author Biography
Ken Conca is a professor in the Department of Environment, Development, and Health at American University. His research focuses on environment, conflict, and peacebuilding; water politics and governance; and the role of the United Nations in environmental governance. He was a founding member of the UN Environment Programme's Expert Advisory Group on Conflict and Peacebuilding, and is on the Board of Directors of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association. Recent books include the Grawemeyer Award-winning An Unfinished Foundation: The United Nations and Global Environmental Governance and The Oxford Handbook of Water Politics and Policy (both with Oxford University Press). Conca earned his Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley.
