Learning From Disaster: What Two Hurricanes Reveal About Ways to Design Public Space as Flood Infrastructure

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the resilience of two urban parks in the United States after extreme flooding caused by separate hurricane events. It provides early lessons for designers, planners, and engineers of open and park space from a practice-based research group and two academic partnerships. The first site is coastal, a waterfront park in New York City, New York. The focus was on understanding how elements of the design and construction of Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park, Phase 1, contributed to a high level of resilience during and after Hurricane Sandy, especially related to coastal flooding, storm surge, and heavy rains. The second site is on the principal river system in Houston, Texas. The focus was on understanding how elements of the design and construction of a 160-acre section of Buffalo Bayou Park contributed to a high level of resilience during and after Hurricane Harvey, which brought heavy rains, increased water velocity, and extended submergence.