Bound by river on three sides, the Navy Yard is significantly at risk for flooding in the near future. At the most basic level, Rose's project will look at what this risk means for the industries currently operating in this area. Layered within this inquiry are questions of how the Navy Yard came to be what it is today and how the surrounding communities are impacted by activity at the Navy Yard. The physical features of League Island influenced its use and occupation, which in turn changed its ecology, in a continuous feedback system over centuries. The land’s occupants and owners faced ecological, economic, and social instabilities that persist in new forms to this day. Climate change and rising sea levels threaten Philadelphia’s burgeoning attempt to create a profitable business campus out of a former naval base. How will the city and the corporations involved address this threat? How will the economic and environmental conditions at the Navy Yard impact the surrounding communities of Philadelphia?
Rose Nagele will be graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in May with a major in Biology and minor in Creative Writing. Building on her experiences with biological research and journalism, she strives to incorporate scientific perspectives with dialogues about politics, culture, and the environment. As a Summer Fellow, Rising Waters Fellow, and Undergraduate Fellow with PPEH, Rose has been examining the influence of the Delaware River on the geophysical, economic, and social evolution of the greater Philadelphia area.
