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See firsthand why London’s Thames Barrier is no longer enough to keep the city safe from rising tides. The system has worked for decades, but due to increased environmental challenges, its location on a flood plain and heavy urbanization, London must now explore both low-tech fixes and some of the most advanced engineering solutions in the world.

Sinking Cities Most of the world's great cities stand on coastlines and rivers and today they are in grave danger. Billions of people are living in the face of disaster. As the earth warms, sea levels rise, and super-storms become more frequent and more intense, many major coastal cities will soon be under water. Sinking Cities is a fast-paced four-part series that shows how New York, London, Tokyo and Miami face similar and also individual dangers - and how they are preparing for the real-time impact of rising seas - devising colossal new construction projects, and groundbreaking solutions aimed at securing their infrastructure. Challenges include rising seas, stronger storms, heavier rainfall, flooding rivers, even tsunamis. Solutions require heavy engineering and changing minds. We meet the ambitious engineers, innovative researchers, and determined first responders - individuals who are determined to adapt these cities and ensure they survive. Sinking Cities is about the huge threat facing four global cities - and what is being done to save them.

The city of tomorrow might already be here. Right now, 21st century challenges like greenhouse gases, crime and high energy costs — are being met worldwide with real innovation. In the coming years communities will grow at an amazing pace. The United Nations predicts by 2030, 60% of the world will live in cities. Demand for clean air, water, energy — and convenience — will skyrocket.

Along with emerging innovations, increased connectivity via the Internet and smart devices promises to help solve many of these threats. Imagine turning the ocean into drinking water, ending traffic jams, making policing smarter and creating buildings with zero carbon footprints.