Watch Blog: As the fourth anniversary of superstorm Sandy draws near, let’s take a look at one of the unique ways the government responded to this disaster.  In June of 2013, the President’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force partnered with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to launch a prize competition to generate ideas on how to rebuild communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy.  The competition, named Rebuild by Design, offered $200,000 cash prize awards to finalist design teams to develop proposals to increase the resiliency of communities and the region.

To administer and fund the competition HUD partnered with research, advocacy, and philanthropic organizations from the region, which officials stated was critical to the initiative’s success.   This network of partners helped the agency and participating design teams engage hundreds of local stakeholder groups from communities affected by Sandy. Ultimately, HUD selected 6 winning designs and one finalist design, all of which they allocated money to implement. For example, one winning design funded by HUD would create a protective system around the southern end of New York City to shield against floods while also providing social and environmental benefits to the community. Read more>>