on Oct 20, 2015
Rebuild by Design Book Published
HR&A is proud to have some of our innovative resiliency work featured in the new Rebuild By Design book, which was released last month. The ten finalist proposals for the innovative competition are compiled into a comprehensive book that chronicles the competition, research, and details of the projects that resulted from this process. HR&A participated on three of ten Rebuild by Design finalist teams, two of which were selected to receive funding to move forward to implementation.
The Rebuild by Design Competition, an initiative of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, was an innovative response to the extensive damage caused by Superstorm Sandy. The initiative was launched in 2013 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and primarily sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation.
HR&A led a multidisciplinary team supported by Cooper, Robertson & Partners. The team developed the Commercial Corridor Resiliency Project proposal, and was the only finalist team led by urban economists. The team examined three highly vulnerable sites, which had been impacted by Superstorm Sandy and are representative of the physical and economic conditions found throughout the affected region. The HR&A team developed a “design toolkit” which could be implemented in the selected sites, and additional sites with similar challenges – maximizing the usefulness of the team’s efforts.
HR&A was also a key consultant to the OMA team, leading economics and policy analysis for a Comprehensive Urban Water Management Strategy for Hoboken, New Jersey and neighboring areas. The strategy includes a four-pronged effort to: resist future storm surge with new coastal defenses; delay and store precipitation with a citywide green infrastructure network; and discharge floodwater via an enhanced network of stormwater pumps. The team received $230 million for the first phase of implementation. Identification of Hoboken Station as being at-risk for future flooding helped secure $146 million for flood-proofing along the Long Slip Canal from the Federal Transit Administration.
HR&A also led the economic strategy for a team led by PennDesign/OLIN, which developed “Hunts Point Lifelines,” a peninsula-wide strategy for resilience, including a perimeter levee that incorporates recreational access to the waterfront, a network of cleanways that function as both stormwater mitigation and roadway improvements, and an independent district energy grid that ensures continued food access during storm emergencies. The team was also selected to receive $20 million from HUD and $25 million from the City of New York for further study of these concepts.
HR&A is proud to have been involved in this creative and critical resiliency work. A PDF copy of the book can be downloaded here.