on Mar 14, 2019

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announces a bold series of climate adaptation strategies for a more resilient Lower Manhattan.

HR&A’s strategic plan for Lower Manhattan played a key role in advancing the City’s comprehensive strategy for the Lower Manhattan Climate Resilience project.

 
In collaboration with AECOM, BIG, One Architecture, and James Lima Planning + Development, our team assessed the range of impacts that climate change will bring upon Lower Manhattan over the next 80 years. The most daunting of these climate impacts is a projected 6 feet of sea level rise by the year 2100, which will put almost 50% of properties within Lower Manhattan at risk from storm surge, and 20% of streets in the district exposed to daily tidal inundation.
 
The team undertook an exhaustive assessment to develop a toolkit of adaptation strategies and crafted a series of recommendations tailored to the diverse and complex conditions of the Lower Manhattan waterfront, with an eye on how these projects would not only allow for long-term climate adaptation but strengthen the quality of life and economic vibrancy of the area.
 
Of the more notable recommendations is one that builds upon a prior feasibility study HR&A conducted under the Bloomberg administration, which proposes extending the Manhattan shoreline into the East River along the Financial District and Seaport given the significant upland constraints to long-term adaptability. This strategy offers the potential to build upon climate adaptation to not only protect Lower Manhattan’s critical assets, but to shape its future and strengthen its importance in the region.
 
Read the Mayor’s full press release here.
 
To learn more about this project and our study, contact Partner Cary Hirschstein or Principal Justin Schultz.