A Vision for a Resilient East Harlem was a year-long visioning project with NYC Parks and the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency to address the impacts of climate change in a diverse, densely populated, and rapidly developing area of upper Manhattan. The team studied the impacts of future sea level rise, coastal surge,... Continue Reading
A Vision for a Resilient East Harlem was a year-long visioning project with NYC Parks and the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency to address the impacts of climate change in a diverse, densely populated, and rapidly developing area of upper Manhattan. The team studied the impacts of future sea level rise, coastal surge, rain events, and extreme heat on physical assets and socially vulnerable groups with particular attention to waterfront open spaces in East Harlem, which has approximately three miles of waterfront. 106th Street, which is directly inland of the waterfront and runs along the low-lying Harlem Creek, was found to be especially prone to flooding. Thus, as part of the final vision plan, the team made recommendations to transform the street into a multifunctional cultural, ecological, and stormwater management corridor. Recommendations included creating an integrated network of centralized and decentralized stormwater management interventions comprised of both green and gray infrastructure. The scale of future flood risk makes it necessary that these methods work as standalone measures as well as part of a larger system of both public and private spaces.
Read Michael Haggerty and Emily Parkey’s article on the Climate Resilience Leadership Lab, published by Urban Omnibus.
