S 48 · LAND&PEOPLE · SPRING/SUMMER 2013
andy and other recent extreme weather events have kick-started a vital national conversation about the best ways to protect cities from future storms.
Sandy was “a game-changer,” says Adrian Benepe, director of city park de- velopment at The Trust for Public Land. “It’s forcing cities to reexamine what they’re doing to manage the effects of climate change.” Benepe believes the answer lies in a mix of “gray” (manmade) and “green”
(natural) infrastructure solutions. While traditional gray infrastructure employs devices like pipes and floodgates to bend nature to the engineer’s will, green infrastructure enlists nature as a partner to help cities manage water. When placed in and along waterways, green infrastructure can help blunt the effects of storm surges; inside the city, it can absorb and retain runoff that might otherwise overwhelm the sewer system. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has also advocated a balanced green
and gray approach. In a speech after the hurricane, he rejected the possibil- ity of erecting seawalls, suggesting the city consider more creative tools, like berms and dunes. “It would be nice if we could stop the tides from coming in,” Bloomberg
said, “but King Canute couldn’t do it—and neither can we.” While the national interest in green infrastructure may be new, The Trust for
Public Land has long specialized in creating parks, greenways, and natural ar- eas that do double duty as water management tools. Starting in the late 1980s, the organization began using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to map the marshlands of the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary, identify- ing more than 2,600 acres where conservation could help protect coastal communities—including Marine Park. That the neighborhood fared well in the storm is a reminder that the right green infrastructure in the right places can go a long way. But in New York and other waterfront communities across the country, many neighborhoods remain highly vulnerable. Organizations like The Trust for Public Land are identifying the areas at highest risk—and applying green infrastructure solutions to protect them. Here’s how.
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