Hurricane Sandy made landfall north of Atlantic City, New Jersey, on 29 October 2012. Within hours, it was inundating New York harbour with a storm surge of waves that reached a record height of nearly 14 feet. The storm ravaged coastal communities: an estimated 80% of the city of Hoboken was under water. The power went out in most of Lower Manhattan as its basements, tunnels and subways flooded, bringing the biggest city in the country to a near-standstill.
As the disaster recovery funds began flowing, the US federal government realised that even the best sustainability plans, such as PlaNYC, weren’t thinking comprehensively enough about the vulnerabilities cities and regions face. They didn’t recognise the inherent uncertainty of changing climate, nor how to respond.
[...]
In June 2013, the US housing department launched a $1bn multidisciplinary design competition informed by this new approach. Dubbed Rebuild by Design and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation (which also supports Guardian Cities) and other organisations, nearly 150 interdisciplinary design teams applied to participate. Ten finalist teams were chosen in August 2013, after which Ovink [Dutch expert of flood prevention] led them through a year-long process of research and collaboration with community stakeholders to understand and design around local conditions and needs.