Landscaped trenches that keep rain from overpowering rivers. Underwater beds of eelgrass to reduce erosion. Waterside sitting areas that would give a front-row seat to the rise in sea levels. These are some of the inventive ways New York City and nearby coastlines might be better protected against severe storms like Sandy as a result of the six winning proposals of the federal government's Rebuild by Design competition. While each proposal tackles a different shoreline region, environmental sensitivity plays a big role in each.
The region "is a special geography that is badly in need of renewal," says Richard Roark, a partner with Olin, the landscape architecture firm working on one of the winning proposals.