What Next for 'Rebuild By Design'?

The Rebuild By Design has already proven successful in raising the profile of resiliency and sea level rise as a critical planning and urban design issue of the 21st century, but there are still some benchmarks that must be achieved before any of the competition's winning projects are complete. For instance, reports Henry Melcher, "before any of these projects can break ground, the approved federal funds must be officially granted to the specific localities that will oversee them."

"That process is expected to start this fall when HUD publishes a notice in its registry that the funds are available. After that occurs, the grantees must create action plans, which include public input, and detail how the funds will be spent. Once those plans are approved by HUD—likely some time this winter—the money will be available to spend."

Then there is the likely evolution of some of the winning proposals: "As this process plays-out, the proposals will certainly change as they move from design to development and from architects to bureaucrats. The winning New York City teams understand this but are optimistic about how their visions will be realized."