Making the Bay Area Resilient By Design

The Resilient By Design Bay Area Challenge has produced nine designs to address sea-level rise and flooding around the San Francisco Bay Area.

1 minute read

June 22, 2018, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Sea Level

Tom Hilton / Flickr

"The Resilient By Design Bay Area Challenge brought together nine multi-disciplinary design teams to develop resilient solutions to climate change-induced sea level rise and severe flooding, and seismic impacts at various sites around the San Francisco Bay," according to an article by Grace Mitchell.

The Bay Area Challenge differed from the previous iteration of Resilient By Design, which designed for New York City with funding on the line and support from the U.S. Department of Housing and urban Development.

"While there is no funding laid out to implement the Bay Area projects, several teams will continue efforts with communities to realize them," adds Mitchell. "The success of the competition lies in the ideas generated. Bay Area jurisdictions will then need to decide how, when, and what to move forward."

Mitchell examines the resulting design proposals in two articles (Part 1 and Part 2) that include project descriptions and lots of beautiful renderings.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018 in ASLA The Dirt

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

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

September 30, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

An Airo train driving towards the camera on a track. There is a forest behind it.

Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet

Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.

September 22, 2026 - Washington State Standard

The largest wildlife overpass in North America stretching over the I-25. Both sides of the overpass, and the overpass itself, are covered in brown grass.

Record-breaking wildlife overpass in Colorado brings 91% reduction in animal collisions

Prior to the overpass, vehicles were hitting one deer per day on Colorado’s Interstate 25.

September 28, 2026 - CBS Colorado

A rendering of the waterfront development, which shows a lit-up stage by the waterfront and people walking about.

Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment

Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.

3 seconds ago - ABC 7

The mayor of Baltimore speaks into a microphone in front of a rally for more state transportation funding from Maryland.

‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan

Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.

1 hour ago - Baltimore Sun

A view from below the HUD. The building is gray with a grid of windows.

Trump wants to cancel nearly 98% of funding for HUD housing support program

Multiple housing groups are suing the administration in an effort to preserve the funding.

2 hours ago - The Washington Sun

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design