A competition in the San Francisco Bay Area highlights projects considering new ways to design for impending environmental changes.
John King reports on the nine finalists of the Resilient by Design | Bay Area Challenge, which brought together teams to develop innovative ways to address sea-level rise and other resiliency threats in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The teams were assigned different sites throughout the Bay Area. For example, one team worked on a plan to get much-needed sediment back into the ecological system of the bay, says King:
Unlocking Alameda Creek is a meticulously researched vision for tapping the potential of the waterway that wends from Niles Canyon down through Fremont, Newark and Union City. Passages now channeled in concrete could be freed to allow fine grains of dirt and sand to be carried once again toward the bay. The new banks could be softened with trees and plants, and there could be seasonal trails and parks within them.
Other projects looked at green infrastructure as a climate adaptation tool, infrastructure and housing investments in low-income communities, and the design of elevated roadways through vulnerable coastal areas.
The nine teams, chosen from 51 entrants, included designers, architects, engineers, and community residents and leaders. Each team received an award of $250,000 to fund a year-long project.
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