A decade later, we are only just beginning to act, and the path forward is murky. The metropolitan area has seen billions of dollars committed to rebuilding and protecting hard-hit areas; sweeping new laws to cut emissions and build resiliency; a growing climate and environmental justice movement. Cutting-edge projects, like restoring wave-calming oyster beds and building “living breakwaters,” come with revived attention to the waterfronts that first made New York a great world city.

But the verdict is clear: We have not done enough. We are not moving fast enough. We do not have a comprehensive plan or a clear route to one, despite energetic efforts from leaders, agencies and communities. So say scientists, urban planners, officials and front-line residents, in scores of interviews and hundreds of pages of government, academic and advocacy reports.

Dauntingly, no single solution can protect the whole city. Each neighborhood has its own topography, architecture, demographics; thus its own needs. So, trying to grasp the whole, the photographer Jade Doskow and I explored five areas, each grappling with its own set of challenges.