Living with a Flooded Future｜浸出個未來

隨着海平面上升及極端天氣日益頻密，香港正逐漸被重新塑造成一個與水共存的城市。然而，對不少人而言，這些氣候風險仍然顯得遙遠而抽象，往往被視為屬於未來世代或「想像中的問題」。根據政府間氣候變化專門委員會（IPCC）第六次評估報告（AR6），多米高的海平面上升情景在本世紀內「不能被排除」。Climate Water Risk (CWR）的研究亦指出，若未能有效應對海平面上升帶來的長遠影響，香港大量住宅、商業及工業區將面臨水浸風險。然而，這些科學預測往往停留在數據與模型層面，與市民如何想像自身的日常生活、社區關係與責任之間，仍然存在明顯落差。

部分沿海城市已開始建立較為整合的制度回應及公共教育機制，嘗試讓社會及早理解和面對長期水浸風險。相比之下，香港在制度層面與公共層面的氣候溝通仍然較為分散，更重要的是，現有討論多以技術評估或遙遠的未來情景為主，較少觸及水浸將如何影響人們的日常節奏、社會角色及社區生活。這種科學知識與生活經驗之間的斷裂，正是集體氣候適應行動所面對的關鍵挑戰。

有見及此，香港中文大學社會創新研究中心（CSIS）與知識夥伴CWR合作，提出一個以經驗、地方與想像力為核心的公共參與試點計劃。項目將以 CWR 的氣候風險研究為基礎，動員大學生作為共學者與促進者，透過工作坊、實地考察、藝術與文化介入，以及原型試作等方式，探索如何將抽象的科學知識轉化為可被感知、討論及分享的公共經驗。項目並非旨在提出技術解決方案，而是希望檢視：當氣候變化被放回日常生活與社區脈絡之中，經驗與想像能否幫助人們重新連結海平面上升的未來，並為集體行動奠定更具共感與理解的基礎。

Can you imagine a super‑typhoon hitting Hong Kong every year, sweeping the Central Business District (CBD) into floodwaters and paralysing the economy? In 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report’s (AR6) “cannot be ruled out” scenario warned of 2m and 5m of sea-level rise by 2100 and 2150. If Hong Kong fails to adapt our coastal defences to multi-metre sea levels by 2100, this could affect 40,256 residential buildings, 3,010 commercial buildings, and 1,968 industrial buildings (CWR, 2022).

Many coastal cities have taken proactive steps to prepare for these risks, and started to run public campaigns to strengthen awareness. In Singapore, the government established a special Public Utilities Board (PUB) under the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment to manage water resources in an integrated way. PUB’s mission is also protect the island from inland and coastal flooding. Hong Kong lacks a comparable institutional framework or coordinated public education strategy, leaving both communities and policymakers underprepared for the accelerating threats of climate change.

The Centre for Social Innovation Studies (CSIS) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong proposes a collaboration with our knowledge partner CWR to catalyse public engagements across the city. Building on CWR’s solid climate‑risk research, the Deep Adaptation initiative will operate through an inter‑university, interdisciplinary framework that mobilises university students to develop public‑facing projects—visual art, infographics, VR tours, digital mapping websites, storytelling workshops, and landscape‑design exhibits. These projects will weave together CWR’s findings, community narratives, and creative imagination to translate the global problem and scientific insights into localized, accessible, and actionable knowledge.

Project Detail｜項目詳情

一個以海平面上升未來為起點連結氣候、日常生活與想像力的共學計劃

報名連結：
https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13725770

你有否想過，如果海平面持續上升、極端天氣愈來愈頻密，我們的日常生活、社區、工作，會變成怎樣？
這是一個香港中文大學社會創新研究中心（CSIS）策劃的學生共學計劃，邀請同學一齊透過研究、實地考察、藝術與原型試作，想像同理解水浸未來點樣影響我們的城市與生活。

參加者將會參與一系列工作坊及活動，包括：
1｜海牆的基建想像　2 月 11 日（星期三）
* 探討海平面上升下的氣候風險，以及大型基建如何形塑我們對未來的想像
2｜藝術文化介入氣候　3 月 7 日（星期六）
* 透過藝術與文化方法，將研究與經驗轉化為公共溝通與集體反思
3｜試作水漲日常　4 月 25 日（星期六）　暫定
* 以原型試作方式，將氣候風險與日常生活之間的關係具體呈現
4｜濕地生活的智慧與實踐　4月 11 日（星期六）　暫定
* 透過實地考察，了解濕地與基圍文化如何回應與水共存的挑戰
5｜成果分享及社區參與　5月
* 向公眾分享學生成果，並與社區展開對話，反思水浸未來的集體回應

歡迎來自不同學科背景、不同大專院校的同學參與。
無需相關研究或藝術經驗，只要你對氣候、社區、日常生活與未來想像有興趣。

重要日期
* 活動由二月至五月期間進行
* 截止報名日期：1 月 30 日

Living with a Flooded Future: Calling for participants

Registration:
https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13725770

What will you do in this project?

Participants will take part in a series of workshops and activities, including:
* Climate Futures & Infrastructural Imagination
Learn about sea-level rise, coastal walls, and how large-scale infrastructure shapes our imagination of climate futures.
* Nature-based Solutions & Living in Wetlands
Join a guided field visit to Mai Po to explore how people have historically lived with water, and what we can learn from wetlands today.
* Sense-making & Reflection
Reflect collectively on climate risks, everyday routines, and community experiences.
* Art & Cultural Interventions
Work with an artist to translate research and experience into creative forms.
* Prototyping & Project Building
Collaboratively develop prototypes that map the intersection between everyday life and a flooded future.
* Project Showcase & Community Engagements
Share your work with others and engage in public dialogue on climate futures.

Who should join?
We welcome students from diverse academic backgrounds who are curious about climate change, everyday life, and collective futures.
No prior experience in climate studies or art is required — curiosity, openness, and willingness to learn together matter most.

Important date
* Activities will be held between Feb to May
* Registration deadline: 30 Jan, 2026

2025 was not an exception. It was a warning.
2025 年並非例外，而是一個警號。

Are our cities prepared for what comes next?
我們的城市，準備好了嗎？

Project consultancy panel

Debra Tan

Head & Director,
Climate Water Risk

#Sea-level Rise
#Finance
#Climate Risk

Prof. Xu Yuan

Associate Professor,
Department of Geography and Resource Management, CUHK

#Energy Transition
#Environmental Governance
#Urban Sustainability

Pak Sheung Chuen

Artist,
Co-Founder of HASS Lab

#Everydayness
#Connceptualism
#Art Intervention

Prof. Tai Pui Kuen Amos

Professor,
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, CUHK

#Earth System Science
#Atmospheric Chemistry
#Sustainable Agriculture

Alex Wong

Head, Community Education,
WWF-Hong Kong

#Environmental education
#Sustainable development
#Community engagement

William Sin

Chief of Innovation Strategy,
Good Lab

#Placemaking & Innovation Strategy
#Desgin Thinking
#Social Design

Eva Yeung

Senior Manager (Community Resilience),
Hong Kong Red Cross

#Community Resilience
#Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
#Participatory Development

Prof. Wu Ka Ming

Director,
Centre for Social Innovation Studies, CUHK

#Environmental Humanities
#Waste and Plastic
#Social Innovation

11 FEB, 2026
Foo Yuan Building Room 221

Living with a Flooded Future｜浸出個未來

In 2025, Hong Kong was hit with two T10 typhoons and 5 black rainstorms, marking a record-breaking storm season. Flooding paralysed many parts of the city and it took us a few days to bounce back to normal.

But imagine how much worse the impact would be if sea levels were 1m higher? This could be Hong Kong’s reality as soon as 2070 if high emissions continue. Yet this unprecedented ice melt remains out of sight and out of mind. This talk unpacks the looming threats from our cryosphere:
* How do melting glaciers & ice sheets impact us in Hong Kong?
* What coastal defenses is Hong Kong mounting? Which sectors are most vulnerable?
* How can we tap the inevitable trillion-dollar adaptation opportunity?
* If we don’t know the full extent of the risks ahead, how can we prepare for them?

2025 年，香港先後遭遇兩次十號颱風及五次黑色暴雨警告，創下極端天氣頻率的新紀錄。多個地區出現嚴重水浸，城市運作一度癱瘓，需時數日方能逐步回復正常。

然而，若海平面再上升一米，情況又會變得多嚴峻？在高排放情景持續的情況下，這樣的未來或許最快於 2070 年便會成為香港的現實。極地冰川與冰蓋正以前所未見的速度融化，但這場發生於遠方的變化，往往仍然「看不見、想不到」，卻正深刻影響沿海城市的未來風險。
本講座將以冰凍圈（cryosphere）為切入點，探討氣候變化如何轉化為香港面對的具體挑戰，包括：
冰川與冰蓋融化如何影響香港的海平面與水浸風險？
香港現時正部署哪些沿岸防禦措施？哪些地區與行業最為脆弱？
面對不可避免的氣候適應需求，當中蘊藏着怎樣的轉型與投資機遇？
若我們仍未全面理解未來風險的規模，又該如何為城市作出準備？

Guest Speakers

Debra Tan heads CWR, a non-profit organisation dedicated to mainstreaming water and climate risks into financial decision-making and corporate strategy. Her decade-long work on assessing and valuing water scarcity and coastal risks has been featured in TCFD’s Knowledge Hub and major disclosure frameworks including IFRS, CDSB, SBTN, and CDP. She is published by Springer Nature, Palgrave MacMillan, China policy journals and was a contributing author to the latest IPCC report “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”. Tan has advised numerous corporates, MNCs & FIs and currently sits on the Board of Governors of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). She spends her spare time exploring Himalayan glaciers.

Yuan Xu is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Resource Management at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He leads the Centre for Urban Innovations at the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies and the Environmental Policy and Governance Programme under the Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability. His research focuses on energy and environmental governance, technological development, and industrial strategy. He has served as President of the Professional Association for China’s Environment (PACE) since 2022. Before joining CUHK in August 2010, he received a Ph.D. degree in public policy from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University and was a postdoctoral research associate in the Industrial Performance Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Registration

7 MAR, 2026

Living with a Flooded Future｜浸出個未來

城市・海岸・行動：當代藝術切入海平面上升未來
City • Coast • Action: Contemporary Art Interventions in a Sea-Level-Rise Future

Hong Kong experienced record-breaking extreme weather in 2024 and 2025, including multiple T10 typhoons and black rainstorms. Flooding disrupted daily life and exposed the vulnerability of our coastal and reclaimed areas. Sea-level rise is no longer abstract. It shapes the future of our city.

2024至2025年間，香港經歷破紀錄的極端天氣，包括多個十號風球及黑色暴雨警告。水浸影響交通與基建，也揭示沿海及填海土地的脆弱性。海平面上升已不再抽象，而是與我們的城市未來直接相關。

In this workshop, you will walk through the urban-coastal landscape and explore how contemporary art can respond to climate realities. Artist Pak Sheung Chuen (Tozer Pak) will guide you to observe, question, and act. You will examine the relationship between the MTR station, shopping mall, park, promenade, and pier. You will develop small-scale actions that test how art can engage people in climate issues.

在本工作坊中，你將走進城市與海岸之間的空間，思考當代藝術如何回應氣候現實。藝術家白雙全將帶領大家觀察、提問與行動。你將從鐵路站、商場、公園、海濱及碼頭出發，發展小型行動實驗，探索藝術如何與公眾討論氣候議題。

We focus on one question: How can you use contemporary art to engage sea-level rise in ways that are concrete, local, and participatory?

我們聚焦一個核心問題：你如何以當代藝術方式，具體而在地地切入海平面上升的議題？

This workshop forms part of the co-learning project Living with a Flooded Future. Your ideas and experiments may contribute to future prototypes, campaigns, and public exhibitions.

本工作坊屬於 浸出個未來共學計劃 的一部分。你的觀察與行動，將成為未來原型創作、公共展覽與氣候溝通實踐的基礎。

活動詳情｜Event details
Date: 7 March 2026 (Saturday)
Time: 14:00–17:30
Location: Meeting point will be provided after successful registration
Participants: 30 (limited quota), prioritizing those in the Living with a Flooded Future program.
Registration Form: https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13727918

We encourage you to join if you are interested in art, urban space, climate change, or social engagement. No prior artistic experience is required. You only need curiosity and willingness to act.

歡迎對藝術、城市空間、氣候變化或社會實踐有興趣的你參加。無需藝術背景，只需要好奇心與行動的意願。

Registration