The concept behind biomimicry is really quite simple. Our planet’s biological and environmental systems are the result of an ongoing 3.8-billion-year ‘research and development’ process. This has resulted in some amazing solutions to problems that human society faces as well — all tuned to work within our planet’s constraints and therefore “sustainable.” So why not learn from them?

This may seem like common sense, but we as humans have a legacy of often working against natural systems, rather than with them. This is no truer than with our relationship to the coastline. This is a place of dichotomies, often highly populated and seen as desirable by many, yet at the mercy of shifting coastal dynamics and oceans with immense power to erode land over time and destroy human developments in an instant. The response has often been to construct ��high seawalls, built in an ��attempt to do battle with the sea. But in a time of rising sea levels and increased frequency of major storms, the long-term resilience of such an approach is starting to be questioned, as even the largest of manmade structures are starting to fail.

By contrast, biological coastline protection often shows surprising resilience to ocean forces. From the mangroves of the Asiatic Pacific to the sand dune grasses of the north Atlantic, these landscapes shield the hinterland through a more responsive give and take while maintaining their system’s overall integrity. The UK’s sand dunes are a great example of this, able to take the full force of the north Atlantic’s winter storms.���� The extensive root systems of the Marram Grass trap sand blown by the wind, gradually building high mounds over time. During storm events the broad sloped surfaces of the dunes help dissipate wave energy in a far more effective way than a vertical wall would do, spreading the impact across a wide, shallow area rather than concentrating it at one point.

Battling against coastal dynamics.�� Blackpool’s old Victorian seawall at low tide and being overtopped during a winter storm.

The resort town of Blackpool on the UK’s northwest coast is a classic example of what can go wrong when you work against natural coastline dynamics. It was built on a sand dune, which, as the town expanded, the Victorians replaced with a monumental 10-meter/30-foot-high seawall. This severed the town from its main asset, its beach, and as competition grew from continental European destinations, Blackpool fell into economic decline. To make matters worse, by the early 2000s the seawall was failing to hold back increasingly stormy winter seas, which began to flood the town.

The solution has been to learn from the dunes. The high wall has been replaced with a gently sloping set of steps stretching the length of the town, mimicking the incline of sand dunes to dissipate wave energy. Each step aids in this process, acting as a mini wave wall to break up the force of the waves incrementally. Unlike a conventional approach it intentionally allows a degree of inundation during severe winter storms. During these events the promenade at the top of the stairs becomes flooded. The floodwaters are contained by a low wall sculpted to serve as public seating at all other times. This approach has allowed the structure as a whole to be lower, enabling strong connections between town and beach during summer months.

The synthetic dune.�� Merging coastal dynamics, beach access and the town’s protection needs.��Copyright 91Ӱ�� photo by Dixi Carrillo.

For the first time in a century, tourists can walk directly from the promenade into the sea, with the steps colored to match the famous golden sand. The design was informed by extensive wave tank modeling to understand local coastal dynamics and ��most effectively mold the final form of the serpentine steps. Today sand can be seen migrating up and down the steps during the course of a year, following seasonal coastal dynamics, the town now protected by its monumental, ��synthetic dune. What can also be seen is the functional, aesthetic, and economic value of designing in harmony with nature.

��

James Haig Streeter (james.haigstreeter@aecom.com) is a principal in 91Ӱ��’s��global practice��and��co-led the design of Blackpool’s coastal protection.

The post Coastal resilience through biomimicry appeared first on Blog.

The concept behind biomimicry is really quite simple. Our planet’s biological and environmental systems are the result of an ongoing 3.8-billion-year ‘research and development’ process. This has resulted in some amazing solutions to problems that human society faces as well — all tuned to work within our planet’s constraints and therefore “sustainable.” So why not learn from them?

This may seem like common sense, but we as humans have a legacy of often working against natural systems, rather than with them. This is no truer than with our relationship to the coastline. This is a place of dichotomies, often highly populated and seen as desirable by many, yet at the mercy of shifting coastal dynamics and oceans with immense power to erode land over time and destroy human developments in an instant. The response has often been to construct ��high seawalls, built in an ��attempt to do battle with the sea. But in a time of rising sea levels and increased frequency of major storms, the long-term resilience of such an approach is starting to be questioned, as even the largest of manmade structures are starting to fail.

By contrast, biological coastline protection often shows surprising resilience to ocean forces. From the mangroves of the Asiatic Pacific to the sand dune grasses of the north Atlantic, these landscapes shield the hinterland through a more responsive give and take while maintaining their system’s overall integrity. The UK’s sand dunes are a great example of this, able to take the full force of the north Atlantic’s winter storms.���� The extensive root systems of the Marram Grass trap sand blown by the wind, gradually building high mounds over time. During storm events the broad sloped surfaces of the dunes help dissipate wave energy in a far more effective way than a vertical wall would do, spreading the impact across a wide, shallow area rather than concentrating it at one point.

Battling against coastal dynamics.�� Blackpool’s old Victorian seawall at low tide and being overtopped during a winter storm.

The resort town of Blackpool on the UK’s northwest coast is a classic example of what can go wrong when you work against natural coastline dynamics. It was built on a sand dune, which, as the town expanded, the Victorians replaced with a monumental 10-meter/30-foot-high seawall. This severed the town from its main asset, its beach, and as competition grew from continental European destinations, Blackpool fell into economic decline. To make matters worse, by the early 2000s the seawall was failing to hold back increasingly stormy winter seas, which began to flood the town.

The solution has been to learn from the dunes. The high wall has been replaced with a gently sloping set of steps stretching the length of the town, mimicking the incline of sand dunes to dissipate wave energy. Each step aids in this process, acting as a mini wave wall to break up the force of the waves incrementally. Unlike a conventional approach it intentionally allows a degree of inundation during severe winter storms. During these events the promenade at the top of the stairs becomes flooded. The floodwaters are contained by a low wall sculpted to serve as public seating at all other times. This approach has allowed the structure as a whole to be lower, enabling strong connections between town and beach during summer months.

The synthetic dune.�� Merging coastal dynamics, beach access and the town’s protection needs.��Copyright 91Ӱ�� photo by Dixi Carrillo.

For the first time in a century, tourists can walk directly from the promenade into the sea, with the steps colored to match the famous golden sand. The design was informed by extensive wave tank modeling to understand local coastal dynamics and ��most effectively mold the final form of the serpentine steps. Today sand can be seen migrating up and down the steps during the course of a year, following seasonal coastal dynamics, the town now protected by its monumental, ��synthetic dune. What can also be seen is the functional, aesthetic, and economic value of designing in harmony with nature.

��

James Haig Streeter (james.haigstreeter@aecom.com) is a principal in 91Ӱ��’s��global practice��and��co-led the design of Blackpool’s coastal protection.

The post Coastal resilience through biomimicry appeared first on Blog.

As urbanization increases across the globe, with its associated increase in built space, density, infrastructure, technology, and associated economic development, not to mention a faster pace of life, the basic human need for leisure and cultural activities and places��will continue to grow in importance.

An important portion of this will take traditional, if more modern and interesting forms, such as parks like the High Line in New York City and Millennium Park in Chicago, beautiful spaces that are destinations in their own right that provide visitors with the opportunity to stroll, relax, take in the view, watch other visitors, enjoy an event, and even exercise, all without requiring them to knowingly cross a barrier or gate, enter a building, or spend any money.

At the same time, we will continue to see��growth in attendance at leisure and cultural venues that in some form or another more directly control access and that directly or indirectly require (or need) visitors to spend money.��Some of these, such as observation decks, will be direct byproducts of urbanization, ease of access by urban visitors, and improvements in building technology, allowing visitors to have a higher and higher view of the city, which is both educational and entertaining, such as the One World Observatory on top of��One World Trade Center in New York City,��forecasted to draw 3.8 million visitors annually.�� This will be just one of three observation experiences in New York City, and will add to the growing number of such experiences worldwide.

One World Observatory atop One World Trade Center. Image courtesy of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Attendance is also expected to grow at major cultural institutions, such as museums and performing arts centers, as well at sports facilities, entertainment venues, and amusement parks and related facilities.��While all of these have existed in various periods for significant periods of time (some longer than others), the quality of the experiences offered to visitors has increased over time at each.��In addition, despite the continued improvement in technology in the home, which seemingly poses a threat to experiences in places outside the home, in fact we are social creatures and enjoy sharing experiences together, particularly ones that are in some way meaningful.

Mt. Vernon visitor center, Virginia. Copyright 91Ӱ�� photo by David Lloyd.

Evidence of this trend is given by the continued growth in attendance at the top 25 theme parks worldwide, which collectively had 206 million visitors in 2012, up from 188 million in 2007 prior to the Great Recession.��Similarly, while global figures have just started to be tracked, attendance at the top 20 museums worldwide was 99 million in 2012 and is expected to continue to grow rapidly in the future, particularly due to the impact of the growth of museums in developing countries, such as China which intends to add 1,000 museums over the next decade.

More information about attendance trends at major theme parks, water parks, and museums worldwide can be found in the 2012 Theme Index and Museum Index prepared by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and 91Ӱ��. Click here��for the full report, from which the following figures have been reproduced.

Brian Sands (brian.sands@aecom.com) is a vice president with 91Ӱ��’s Economics practice.

The post Need for public leisure places keeps rising appeared first on Blog.

As urbanization increases across the globe, with its associated increase in built space, density, infrastructure, technology, and associated economic development, not to mention a faster pace of life, the basic human need for leisure and cultural activities and places��will continue to grow in importance.

An important portion of this will take traditional, if more modern and interesting forms, such as parks like the High Line in New York City and Millennium Park in Chicago, beautiful spaces that are destinations in their own right that provide visitors with the opportunity to stroll, relax, take in the view, watch other visitors, enjoy an event, and even exercise, all without requiring them to knowingly cross a barrier or gate, enter a building, or spend any money.

At the same time, we will continue to see��growth in attendance at leisure and cultural venues that in some form or another more directly control access and that directly or indirectly require (or need) visitors to spend money.��Some of these, such as observation decks, will be direct byproducts of urbanization, ease of access by urban visitors, and improvements in building technology, allowing visitors to have a higher and higher view of the city, which is both educational and entertaining, such as the One World Observatory on top of��One World Trade Center in New York City,��forecasted to draw 3.8 million visitors annually.�� This will be just one of three observation experiences in New York City, and will add to the growing number of such experiences worldwide.

One World Observatory atop One World Trade Center. Image courtesy of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Attendance is also expected to grow at major cultural institutions, such as museums and performing arts centers, as well at sports facilities, entertainment venues, and amusement parks and related facilities.��While all of these have existed in various periods for significant periods of time (some longer than others), the quality of the experiences offered to visitors has increased over time at each.��In addition, despite the continued improvement in technology in the home, which seemingly poses a threat to experiences in places outside the home, in fact we are social creatures and enjoy sharing experiences together, particularly ones that are in some way meaningful.

Mt. Vernon visitor center, Virginia. Copyright 91Ӱ�� photo by David Lloyd.

Evidence of this trend is given by the continued growth in attendance at the top 25 theme parks worldwide, which collectively had 206 million visitors in 2012, up from 188 million in 2007 prior to the Great Recession.��Similarly, while global figures have just started to be tracked, attendance at the top 20 museums worldwide was 99 million in 2012 and is expected to continue to grow rapidly in the future, particularly due to the impact of the growth of museums in developing countries, such as China which intends to add 1,000 museums over the next decade.

More information about attendance trends at major theme parks, water parks, and museums worldwide can be found in the 2012 Theme Index and Museum Index prepared by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and 91Ӱ��. Click here��for the full report, from which the following figures have been reproduced.

Brian Sands (brian.sands@aecom.com) is a vice president with 91Ӱ��’s Economics practice.

The post Need for public leisure places keeps rising appeared first on Blog.