HUD announced the winners of the Rebuild by Design competition yesterday, awarding $920 million to six projects in New York and New Jersey. $335 million will go toward the first phase of a 10-mile protective barrier for Manhattan.
"The New York Metropolitan area will soon see a massive, $335 million berm along Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a $60 million living breakwater along Staten Island’s South Shore, a $20 million study of protecting the food distribution center in the Bronx neighborhood of Hunts Point and a $125 million effort to protect north south waterways and the Mill River in Southern Nassau County," reports Graham T. Beck.
HUD also announced winning projects for New Jersey. "For the Garden State, $230 million will go into creating a 'resiliency district' in Hoboken, with the hopes of incentivizing public-private financing for further enhancements to the area, and $150 million will go towards wetland restoration in the Meadowlands."
Laura Kusisto reports more details of the competition's winners, including “The Big U,” designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, which produced designs to "protect the lower half of Manhattan with structures that also serve as recreation sites." That project was awarded the largest share of the competition's funding, $335 million. That award "will go toward building a portion of the first phase of a 10-mile protective barrier on Manhattan's east side."
"The first step will be creating an earthen berm 10 to 20 feet tall that will run along the middle of East River Park and FDR Drive and will connect residents to the river by sloping bridges over the highway." The complete first phase of the project would cost about $1.2 billion.
Graham T. Beck also reports on the expected delivery timelines for the projects: "Their timelines for completion have not been set, but at a press conference today, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio promised the audience that work would begin as soon as possible and continue until the job was done. 'Over four or five years, you’ll see a hugely different physical reality in this city,' he said."
FULL STORY: Massive New Storm-Protection Barrier Funded for Lower Manhattan

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie