MIT CAU + ZUS + URBANISTEN
New York

The Lower East Side’s flooding vulnerability  is caused by both an inadequate sewer system and occasional storm water surges. The team proposes a combined water collection basin that receives storm water and will store/absorb volumes of water during stress. Elements of our proposed resiliency districts (including public emergency amenities, technologically advanced absorption capacity, and landscape infrastructural edges) will be integrated into the current blocks and river edge park structures. In addition, new elevated pedestrian connections may connect Lower Manhattan to safe high points on the surrounding ridges (there are no bridges over the Hudson currently) offering evacuation routes while fostering civic life and urban growth on a daily basis.