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
Airports | Feb 28, 2023
Data visualization: $1 billion earmarked for 2023 airport construction projects
Ninety-nine airports across 47 states and two territories are set to share nearly $1 billion in funding in 2023 from the Federal Aviation Administration. The funding is aimed at help airports of all sizes meet growing air travel demand, with upgrades like larger security checkpoints and more reliable and faster baggage systems.
Seismic Design | Feb 27, 2023
Turkey earthquakes provide lessons for California
Two recent deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria offer lessons regarding construction practices and codes for California. Lax building standards were blamed for much of the devastation, including well over 35,000 dead and countless building collapses.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 27, 2023
New 20,000-seat soccer stadium will anchor neighborhood development in Indianapolis
A new 20,000-seat soccer stadium for United Soccer League’s Indy Eleven will be the centerpiece of a major neighborhood development in Indianapolis. The development will transform the southwest quadrant of downtown Indianapolis by adding more than 600 apartments, 205,000 sf of office space, 197,000 sf for retail space and restaurants, parking garages, a hotel, and public plazas with green space.
Architects | Feb 27, 2023
Hord Coplan Macht announces retirement of Founder/CEO Lee Coplan, FAIA, and names successor
Hord Coplan Macht, an award-winning integrated architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and planning firm, announces the retirement of Founder and Chief Executive Officer Lee Coplan, FAIA. Lee leaves behind a long and celebrated career leading the practice over the last four decades while bringing innovative design strategies and leadership to the architecture and design community.
Libraries | Feb 26, 2023
A $17 million public library in California replaces one that was damaged in a 2010 earthquake
California’s El Centro community, about two hours east of San Diego, recently opened a new $17 million public library. With design by Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects and engineering services by Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering, the 19,811-sf building replaces the previous library, which was built in the early 1900s, damaged by a 7.2 earthquake that struck Baja California in 2010, and demolished in 2016.
Architects | Feb 24, 2023
7 takeaways from HKS’s yearlong study on brain health in the workplace
Managing distractions, avoiding multitasking, and cognitive training are key to staff wellbeing and productivity, according to a yearlong study of HKS employees in partnership with the University of Texas at Dallas’ Center for BrainHealth.
University Buildings | Feb 23, 2023
Johns Hopkins shares design for new medical campus building named in honor of Henrietta Lacks
In November, Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine shared the initial design plans for a campus building project named in honor of Henrietta Lacks, the Baltimore County woman whose cells have advanced medicine around the world. Diagnosed with cervical cancer, Lacks, an African-American mother of five, sought treatment at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in the early 1950s. Named HeLa cells, the cell line that began with Lacks has contributed to numerous medical breakthroughs.
Arenas | Feb 23, 2023
Using data to design the sports venue of the future
Former video game developer Abe Stein and HOK's Bill Johnson discuss how to use data to design stadiums and arenas that keep fans engaged and eager to return.
Museums | Feb 22, 2023
David Chipperfield's 'subterranean' design wins competition for National Archaeological Museum in Athens
Berlin-based David Chipperfield Architects was selected as the winner of the design competition for the new National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The project will modernize and expand the original neoclassical museum designed by Ludwig Lange and Ernst Ziller (1866-1874) with new spaces that follow the existing topography of the site. It will add approximately 20,000 sm of space to the existing museum, as well as a rooftop park that will be open to the public.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 21, 2023
Watch: DBA Architects' Bryan Moore talks micro communities and the benefits of walkable neighborhoods
What is a micro-community? Where are they most prevalent? What’s the future for micro communities? These questions (and more) addressed by Bryan Moore, President and CEO of DBA Architects.