The Value of Place

This morning we took the tram to Sale, north across the river from Rabat.  Their petit taxis are yellow/gold, while those in Rabat are blue, reminding me of college colors across the Atlantic.  We walked through the medina, and then down to the Atlantic.

View south across the river to the kasbah of Rabat.  There is a wide flood plain, but not too wide a river.  Along the river, on both sides are large sandy beaches protected  by the large jetties.

View south across the river to the kasbah of Rabat.  The area seaward of the medinas in both Rabat and Sale contains walled graveyards.

Jetties beyond the graveyard in Sale.

In many parts of the world, this prime real estate near the ocean would be highly developed, with an attitude full of hubris denying that anything could happen to disrupt the enjoyment of the coast.  Then the storms come, and people rebuild, and wait for the next storm to come.  This year the US had an unprecedented three major hurricanes make landfall on US coasts, but at least so far the African coast has not had to worry about hurricanes, and I'm not sure any future models predict that changing.  But if it did, how much would be lost with this kind of coastal development?