on Aug 13, 2013
HR&A Selected for HUD’s Rebuild by Design Competition
HR&A’s Resiliency Efforts Continue with the Federal Rebuild by Design Competition and New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program
Hurricane Sandy, while destroying lives, communities and property across the northeast region last October, also created an unprecedented moment in which three levels of government and the private and non-profit sectors are thinking concertedly about adapting our cities and towns to the future impacts of climate change. HR&A has continued to play an important role in these activities, and we are pleased to have been selected last week by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to lead one of ten distinguished teams to develop innovative projects that will protect and enhance Sandy-affected communities.
Our role in the competition follows Jamie Torres Springer leading community planning efforts as part of the Mayor’s Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency, which prepared the far-reaching PlaNYC Report for A Stronger, More Resilient New York, and our upcoming role as planning consultants to the State of New York’s New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program.
As the only team participating in HUD’s competition led by urban economists, HR&A will focus on the resiliency and vitality of commercial corridors and retail destinations throughout the flood-impacted areas of the northeast, which serve as the lifeblood of communities and help to drive recovery. Joined by a team of experts including Cooper, Robertson & Partners, Grimshaw, Langan Engineering, Hargreaves Associates, W Architecture, Alamo Architects, Urban Green Council, Ironstate Development and New City America, we will combine innovative design, financing and management approaches to create solutions for this critical sector of our economy.
HR&A is also proud to have been selected to support the work of visionary planners PennDesign/Olin team and the Office of Metropolitan Architecture team as sub-consultants. To read more on each team’s approach please visit the Rebuild by Design Website and click on Teams.
We are also pleased to be supporting the work of the State of New York to provide rebuilding and revitalization assistance through community planning efforts across the state under the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program. Work will commence this fall on this critical planning initiative.
These initiatives will support the efforts of the Bloomberg, Cuomo and Obama administrations to make communities across the region more able to withstand the impacts of climate change, risks made undeniable by Sandy. We are proud to be making our contributions.
Read more in The Atlantic, Crain’s, ArchDaily, Curbed, the HUD Press Room, and the Rebuild by Design Website.