An experiment with roots at M.I.T. used A.I. and satellite images to grow a coastline in the Maldives. More projects are planned for Boston.

What if we could harness the ocean’s movement to protect coastal communities from rising sea levels? Designer and TED Fellow Skylar Tibbits shows how his lab is creating a dynamic, adaptable system of underwater structures that uses energy from ocean waves to accumulate sand and restore eroding shorelines.

To fight erosion, Coastal Assembly’s reef works with nature instead of against it.

Researchers are working to rebuild islands by harnessing the power of ocean waves. It's a way to work with nature—not against it—to protect coastal communities.

MIT’s Self Assembly Lab and Invena, an organization based in the Maldives, are working on the Growing Islands Project, a system of underwater structures that use wave energy to promote sand accumulation in strategic locations.

MIT researchers are using submersible structures to harness the ocean’s natural forces to protect beaches - and even one day grow islands.

Researchers have discovered a way to build pop-up islands by harnessing a wave's energy.

Using submersible devices to harness the forces of nature, these researchers believe they can build artificial reefs around the world’s islands and coastlines.