Bay Area Design Challenge Takes On Sea Level Rise

Resilient by Design's Bay Area Challenge has put ten multidisciplinary teams to work conceptualizing "a region where cities and nature are entwined more closely than ever before." Their impetus: the need to design places that can handle rising seas.

As John King writes, "The challenge, which is being funded by local governments and the Rockefeller Foundation, is modeled on New York and New Jersey’s rebuilding effort after Hurricane Sandy in 2012."  

The Bay Area effort, by contrast, isn't a response to "calamitous damage." It's a bid to prepare for a gradual threat, and invites participants to reimagine how cities interact with nature. Many of the designs, King says, involve "threading nature back into an urbanized terrain, so to speak." 

The challenge began with a competition last year, with the ten winning teams each receiving $250,000 for their projects. The final proposals are expected in May. "The months ahead will be spent burrowing into the specific locations, and reaching out to the surrounding communities to make sure there's widespread participation in the final proposals."