As coastal flooding becomes the "new normal," many shoreline cities are trying to find long-term strategies to cope with extreme weather events. In order to advance understanding of this issue, The Boston Harbor Association teamed up with Sasaki Associates to produce Preparing for the Rising Tide, a series of reports focusing on Boston and rising sea levels.
Volume Two of this series was published in August 2014, and focuses on Designing with Water for flood management. According to the report, this school of thought "considers coastal flooding not only a threat, but an opportunity to address multiple goals while making necessary new investments in our buildings, communities, and infrastructure."
The new report contains 12 case studies of cities around the world that have applied advanced flood management techniques. In these case studies, five key design principles emerged:
1. Design for resilience. Resilience implies adapting to or bouncing back from a disturbance quickly. Resilient planning and design incorporates redundancy and anticipates change over time.
2. Create double-duty solutions. Double-duty solutions provide multiple benefits to maximize economic, ecologic, and cultural gain.
3. Strengthen community resilience. Community resilience maintains and enhances the cultural identity that defines a city through resiliency networks and social support systems. Strategies that strengthen social resilience can both cost less and provide meaningful benefits to participants.
4. Incentivize and institutionalize preparedness. Citywide and regional adaptation plans are necessary to guide resiliency efforts. Insurance standards, zoning laws, construction codes, and policy are tools that local and state governments should consider to encourage adaptation within their communities.
5. Phase plans over time. Designing with Water requires design and planning for flexibility and adaptability over time. Planning efforts that address sea level rise should be phased and have the ability to change based on external conditions.
The report concludes with recommended courses of action for members of both the private and public sectors. Here are some of the recommendations that we found particularly interesting:
Recommendations for the Private Sector:
-
Create time-phased preparedness plans based on environmental triggers such as sea level or storm intensity to maintain or even reduce risk of flood damage over time. Incorporate flood preparedness into capital maintenance schedules to minimize additional costs.
-
Look for opportunities to combine flood control with other business and institutional goals such as energy efficiency, sustainability, and livability. Coordinate such strategies with neighboring properties to provide more effective, less costly solutions.
-
Develop and teach curricula focused on Designing with Water and other flood preparedness concepts. Local design schools could be a resource.
Recommendations for the Public Sector:
-
In order to limit costly delays, dead-end investments, and exacerbated social inequalities, we strongly recommend the city of Boston and surrounding communities develop a phased master plan that protects our people and places over time as the tide rises.
-
Work with surrounding municipalities—especially those closely connected through transportation, power, water, and sewage—to develop the political will, regional planning, and resources needed to prepare for chronic coastal flooding.
-
Secure significant new public and private investment to implement the master plan and accelerate private actions. Identify an appropriate coordinating body to manage these resources most effectively to address multiple goals.
Read the full report here.
Related Stories
Adaptive Reuse | Jul 12, 2024
Detroit’s Michigan Central Station, centerpiece of innovation hub, opens
The recently opened Michigan Central Station in Detroit is the centerpiece of a 30-acre technology and cultural hub that will include development of urban transportation solutions. The six-year adaptive reuse project of the 640,000 sf historic station, created by the same architect as New York’s Grand Central Station, is the latest sign of a reinvigorating Detroit.
University Buildings | Jul 11, 2024
3 considerations for designing healthy, adaptable student dining
Amanda Vigneau, IIDA, NCDIQ, LEED ID+C, Director, Shepley Bulfinch, shares three ways student dining facilities have evolved to match changes in student life.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 11, 2024
New download: BD+C's 2024 Healthcare Annual Report
Welcome to Building Design+Construction’s 2024 Healthcare Annual Report. This free 66-page special report is our first-ever “state of the state” update on the $65 billion healthcare construction sector.
Transit Facilities | Jul 10, 2024
Historic Fresno train depot to be renovated for California high speed rail station project
A long-shuttered rail station in Fresno, Calif., will be renovated to serve as the city’s high speed rail (HSR) station as part of the California High-Speed Rail Authority system, the nation’s first high speed rail project. California’s HSR system will eventually link more than 800 miles of rail, served by up to 24 stations.
Government Buildings | Jul 8, 2024
GSA adopts new accessibility guidelines for federal properties
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) adopted a new rule with new accessibility guidelines for federal buildings. The rule establishes that pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way are readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.
Office Buildings | Jul 8, 2024
Office vacancy peak of 22% to 28% forecasted for 2026
The work from home trend will continue to put pressure on the office real estate market, with peak vacancy of between 22% and 28% in 2026, according to a forecast by Moody’s.
Virtual Reality | Jul 8, 2024
Can a VR-enabled AEC firm transform your project?
With the aid of virtual reality and three-dimensional visualization technologies, designers, consultants, and their clients can envision a place as though the project were in a later stage.
Green | Jul 8, 2024
Global green building alliance releases guide for $35 trillion investment to achieve net zero, meet global energy transition goals
The international alliance of UK-based Building Research Establishment (BRE), the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Alliance HQE-GBC France developed the guide, Financing Transformation: A Guide to Green Building for Green Bonds and Green Loans, to strengthen global cooperation between the finance and real estate sectors.
Codes and Standards | Jul 8, 2024
New York State building code update would ban fossil fuels in new buildings
New York’s Building Code Council is set to include the All-Electric Buildings Act in its 2025 code update. The Act would ban natural gas and other fossil fuels in new buildings.
AEC Tech Innovation | Jul 4, 2024
Caution competes with inevitability at conference exploring artificial intelligence for design and construction
Hosted by PSMJ, AEC Innovate in Boston found an AEC industry anxiously at the threshold of change.