Introduction to Part III

Part III presents an overview of the dominant and alternative approaches to addressing the wicked problems of climate change’s impact on coastal cities. The chapter starts with a critique of the current business-as-usual (B-A-U) urban development patterns of the last century, which have relied primarily on defence-based coastal protection systems. The chapter reviews examples from both the Danish context as well as several international cases. Reviewing these examples, the chapter focuses on how B-A-U developments obstruct the integration of marine life in coastal water bodies. 

The latter part of this chapter is dedicated to representing the current alternatives. These approaches are primarily referred to as soft approaches and nature-based solutions, which include natural ecosystems as part of the coastal adaptation, both of which also have their limitations.

Finally, the chapter outlines the four main critical propositions of Urban Seascaping, which have been developed to depart from the current B-A-U approach. Taken together, these four principles aim to theorize waterfront development as a hybrid, interconnected and dynamic zone that incorporates marine ecosystems as an active part of the socio-cultural cityscape and future resilience in Danish coastal cities.