Check out A Floating House to Resist the Floods of Climate Change. It seems reasonable to me. And, I've seen pictures of homes built on pilings following Superstorm Sandy. The neighborhood character is certainly destroyed. Up to now, the only alternative to homes on stilts has been a buy-out program.
It does not surprise me that FEMA is dragging its feet on the concept. Perhaps there are risks not addressed in the story, I'm thinking about the utilities for instance, how does that work? We do need to be open to innovation, so collectively we should not be saying "no" just because we didn't think of it first.
