Since their founding, coastal cities and towns in Atlantic Canada have fundamentally altered their relationship to water, fresh and salt. They sought to impose civic order on maritime landscapes through harbour projects underwritten by growth-oriented politics and economic ambitions. Cities by the Sea examines how this coastal development changed the meaning and knowledge of the shoreline, and resulted in new and challenging environmental consequences.

With sea levels rising and flood risks at an all-time high, Claire Elizabeth Campbell focuses on four cities: Saint John, New Brunswick; St. John's, Newfoundland; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Maps, plans, and other archival records reveal the extent to which building into and over water has positioned our coastal communities precariously in an era of climate change.

As the world's population congregates at the water's edge, understanding the history and changing shape of these urban waterfronts is crucial to maintaining a coastal future.