That's true if people are careless. Houston is fucked; it's on the flats in a hurricane zone, with nowhere for the water to go.

However, there are many urban design techniques to cope with challenges, and these are often easier to build new than to retrofit. Examples include:

* porous pavement that lets water soak through

* rainwater harvesting so it can be used

* rain gardens to soak up water

* hugelkultur to direct, trap, and/or absorb water; one-plant pits can be invisible at the surface

* bioswales to slow runoff and minimize flooding or erosion

* swamp filters to clean runoff before it reaches natural waterways

* integrated stormwater management to fit all the pieces together for maximum benefit


Inland retreat will work best on areas of moderate slope, where moving a modest distance gains you a good yardage above the waterline. Where the coastline is very flat, it's not enough. Where the coastline is very steep, it's rarely needed unless the cliffs are crumbling.