Watch Sinking Cities

Sinking Cities is a captivating documentary series presented by PBS and hosted by Lisa Theodore and Lucy Ernest. In this show, the two presenters explore some of the world's most vulnerable and drowning cities and how they are adapting to the effects of climate change, rising sea levels, and extreme weather conditions.

Each of the four episodes features a specific city: New York, Tokyo, London, and Miami. The program dives deep into the unique challenges each of these cities face as they try to mitigate the damage caused by changing climatic conditions. It explores the resilience and innovation of various communities as they come together to tackle the imminent threats facing their homes.

In the first episode, Sinking Cities takes a look at New York's situation. The documentary highlights how the city's infrastructure - including transport systems, drainage systems, and even skyscrapers - have been built on marshlands, making the city particularly susceptible to natural disasters such as hurricanes, floodings, and storm surges. The episode also looks at the innovative steps the city has taken to address these issues and better protect its residents.

Moving on to Tokyo, the second episode of Sinking Cities explores the city's water management systems, which allow Tokyo to survive and thrive in a flood-prone area. The documentary highlights how Japan's culture of preparedness and disaster prevention informs their approach to managing their flood-prone city. The episode also examines how lessons from ancient architecture, such as Tokyo's traditional raised-floor building design, are being imparted to modern architecture to better mitigate flooding damages.

London, the capital city of the United Kingdom, is the subject of the third episode. Viewers are taken on a journey to multiple sites throughout the city to see how the metropolis is addressing the effects of climate change, such as river flooding, tidal surges, and stormwater erosion. The episode also highlights the various strategies employed by the city to achieve its target of being a zero-carbon city by 2050.

In the final episode, the show heads to Miami, one of the most climate-vulnerable cities in the world. Here, the documentary investigates the direct impact of global warming on extreme weather patterns and sea-level rise, which are beginning to threaten the city's infrastructure and economy. The episode also shows communities coming together to mobilize and coordinate their efforts to address the challenges of impending sea-level rise and the innovative approaches in architecture that look to reduce the impact of flooding and hurricanes.

Overall, Sinking Cities is a well-presented and well-structured documentary series that provides an insightful look into the challenges that modern cities face in the age of climate change. It delivers an urgent message of the need for immediate action, introduces innovative ideas for climate adaptation, and provides hope that communities can work together and find imaginative solutions to these complex and pressing issues. This show is a must-watch for anyone who cares about the environment, the future of our planet, and the communities that inhabit it.

Sinking Cities is a series that ran for 1 seasons (4 episodes) between October 31, 2018 and on PBS