Community Focus: South Bronx SMIA, NY

Fall 2016

SES 840, Design Studio GCPE/UG

Pathways to a Resilient South Bronx, Hunts Point

Currently NYC is undergoing a sea-change in it’s built environment; Super Storm Sandy was a wakeup call to the region, reminding us of our vulnerability to extreme weather events, and the future impacts of climate change. In the more than three years since, there has been considerable effort on behalf of the design community and various government agencies to try to address the issue of how our waterfront communities will deal with rising sea levels and potential degradation of our coast that sits in direct harm. These areas are at the forefront of what is to come in the next century. A wide variety of design proposals are underway towards implementation from Hunt’s Point in the Bronx, to Hoboken New Jersey, to Coney Island, each with a very different approach and community response.

This joint studio effort takes an in-depth look at the issues facing coastal communities in the New York region in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The studio delves into the multiple shocks and stresses that are impacting the long-term resilience of these at-risk communities in order to generate holistic solutions to ensure social, economic and environmental sustainability, partnering multiple disciplines together to plan for resilient futures.

The Fall 2016 studio will focus on the multiple coastal communities in the South Bronx Significant Maritime Industrial Area. The study area includes the communities of Hunts Point, Soundview, Longwood, Mott Haven, Port Morris, bounded by the Bronx River and the Harlem River. For a client, the studio will work primarily with The Point CDC, The New York City Environmental Justice Alliance and their newly formed coalition of diverse South Bronx stakeholders known as the South Bronx Community Resilience Agenda (SBCRA). Together we will explore the challenges faced by people who live in this community and to focus on some of the most acute challenges that they face; including strategies within the five themes of: + Increasing continuity in coastal protection interventions; + Mitigating impacts of truck traffic; + Coordinating the development of community preparedness plans; + Industrial retention and workforce development; + Planning for growth in the face of real estate speculation.

Client Partner: The Point CDC

Professor: Stein Jaime Nandan Gita Jost Tom UA: Kuz Zehra

Students: Akhtab Bilal Bazile Sabrina F. Blum Janna Chidananda Lekhana Fisher Lilli Gladstein Aeli Gonzalez-Rausell Maria Gabriella Kadekar Ashwitha Leung Karina Mach Dominick Marable Jonathan Philip Amanda Rupan Sarita Terry Kellie Yang Jian