You might have missed this in your holiday busy-ness, as we did: In December, Atlantic Cities reported on a project by a team of architect and planners from the University of Michigan to rethink Manhattan in the light of the clear danger of damage from future versions of Hurricane Sandy:

From the edges to the center of the island, the Michigan team’s concept plan alternates marshes, tidal defense berms, floating neighborhoods, hydroponic farms and new parks to protect against flooding. It also retrofits flood plains with a new datum above the water line for service, emergency and power systems; turns numerous streets and avenues into soil channels to facilitate water run-off; concentrates high- density development on the city’s ridges above the flood plains (usually toward the middle of the island); gives new high rise buildings shapes reflecting increased wind conditions; “greens” existing and new buildings to reduce energy consumption in all seasons; zones all of Manhattan “mixed-use” to encourage people to walk between home, work and school to cut back carbon expenditures; integrates surface-transit modes such as BRTs, light rail and bicycle to reduce car use; and below grade, parallels new subways linking Manhattan to the boroughs and region with flood tunnels that help accommodate storm surges.

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *