To: WATERFRONT PLAN
Sent: Tue, Jun 18, 2013 1:06 pm
Subject: City Planning Releases Two Studies to Guide Climate Resilience Efforts in Coastal Urban Areas
Dear NYC Waterfront Stakeholder,
Today, the Department of City Planning released two reports to help guide New York City and other urban waterfront communities improve their resilience to coastal flood risks and promote livable, sustainable neighborhoods. This work began prior to Hurricane Sandy with funding from the HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant to the New York - Connecticut Sustainable Communities Consortium. Both studies informed and complement A Stronger, More Resilient New York, the report of Mayor Bloomberg’s Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency (SIRR), released on June 11, 2013.
The first of these reports, Designing for Flood Risk identifies key principles to guide the design of new buildings in flood zones to facilitate construction that can not only withstand coastal flood events, but also supports the vibrancy of the urban public realm. Recognizing the distinct character and needs of higher-density urban environments, the report provides recommendations for how regulations and individual project design can incorporate these principles. This study provided urban design principles to guide the SIRR recommendations for buildings and also strongly shaped the Department of City Planning’s proposed Flood Resilience Text Amendment, which began the public land use review process on May 20, 2013.
Urban Waterfront Adaptive Strategies provides a systematic assessment of the coastal flood hazards that face waterfront communities in New York City, a thorough survey of coastal protection and adaptation strategies that may be suitable for different shoreline and neighborhood types, and a framework for evaluating coastal protection alternatives. The report is intended to serve as a resource for planners, policymakers, and communities within New York City, the region, and elsewhere in the coastal United States. This study aided the analysis and recommendations for coastal protection in the SIRR report.
Both of these studies advance the goals of Vision 2020, the City’s comprehensive waterfront plan, by seeking to increase the resilience of our waterfront in ways that make the city not only safer, but also more vibrant, healthy, and prosperous.
For more information on either of these studies, and to download a copy of the final reports, visit our website here.
