Hurricane Sandy made New York's increasing vulnerability to extreme storms apparent, and the need elevate buildings in flood-prone areas imperative. This task is made particularly challenging due to the prevalence of multistory buildings.
"Up and down the coast of New York and New Jersey, property owners are being forced to raise their homes and businesses above a new 100-year floodplain drawn up and mandated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency," writes Matt Chaban.
"FEMA does this all over the country, but by-and-large, New York looks different than a lot of these places," said Howard Slatkin, the Department of City Planning's director of sustainability. "In addition to small homes, we've got rowhouses and apartment buildings and a streetscape we want to maintain."
"On Monday, the city put forward its plan to address these problems by certifying a slew of proposed zoning changes that would allow for the elevation of buildings. For the past seven months, Mr. Slatkin and a team at the City Planning Department have been wrestling with the challenge of coming up with a way to fortify the city against future storms without destroying the urban character that makes New York unique."
"If buildings must be raised five, eight, even 12 feet up on stilts, planners fear it could deaden New York's vibrant street life along coastal areas," notes Chaban. "In other words, will Jane Jacobs float?"
FULL STORY: A storm-proof way to elevate city buildings
NYC Relaxes Zoning to Ease Rebuilding
Three months after Sandy struck New York, the city took an important step in the recovery process by waiving select zoning rules rules to speed rebuilding, reports Matt Chaban.
FEMA Rule Calls for Updated Flood Modeling
Agency-funded projects will be required to be elevated at least 2 feet above the projected local flood level.
Opinion: Forget Zoning, Houston Needs a Floodplain Ordinance
Zoning might not have saved Houston from Harvey, but a strong floodplain ordinance would have, according to an opinion piece published in the Houston Chronicle.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.
Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.
Seattle Builds Subway-Sized Tunnel — for Stormwater
The $700 million ‘stormwater subway’ is designed to handle overflows during storms, which contain toxic runoff from roadways and vehicles.
Feds Clear Homeless Encampment in Oregon Forest
The action displaced over 100 people living on national forest land near Bend, Oregon.
Is This Urbanism?
Chuck Wolfe ponders a recommended subscription list of Substack urbanists and wonders — as have others — about the utility of the "urbanist" moniker.
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