RESILIENT EDGEMERE INITIATIVE
URBAN CLIMATE ACTION STRATEGY
YEAR
CLIENT
ROLE
TEAM
AWARDS
PRESS
2015 - ongoing
People of Edgemere, QN
Project lead; research; community engagement; master planning strategy; design and project management
NYC Housing Preservation & Development, and various agencies and mayoral Offices
Bloomberg Philanthropies Cities100 Award for Innovation in Climate Action
The devastating impacts of Superstorm Sandy brought to light the vulnerability of this economically distressed coastal community. With housing recovery efforts underway, an opportunity to rebuild community in a holistic and integrated way opened up.
RESEARCH:
HISTORIC, EXISTING & PROJECTED CONDITIONS
Desktop & archival research
GIS mapping and analysis
Climate projections
Field surveys
Edgemere, QN
The distant Rockaway Peninsula is highly vulnerable to flood risk and coastal storms. Sea level rise, projected with global climate change, threaten to exacerbate this challenge.
A history of racialized politics and neighborhood clearance in the Urban Renewal era, through the fiscal crisis of the 1970s and the Great Recession of the early 2000s have created a concentration of poverty, lack of services and economic opportunity and widespread neighborhood vacancy in the East Rockaways.
Superstorm Sandy had damaging impacts to residents and property owners along the low-lying waterfront. In some parts of the neighborhood, storm surge created flood depths up to
8 feet.
1950s - 1990s
Spread of vacancy and distress
1997
Initial community development plan
2008
Great recession stalls development
Residential areas are a mix of elevated homes, existing at-grade homes, vacant lots and vacant or abandoned housing.
The single commercial thoroughfare has heavy vehicular and foot traffic to community facilities, despite limited retail and vacant storefronts.
COMMUNITY & STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Workshops
Key informant interviews
Surveys
Door-to-door outreach
Organization & stakeholder mapping
SCENARIO PLANNING
RESILIENT EDGEMERE INITIATIVE & COMMUNITY PLAN
