A Natural Systems Approach To Climate Change
Climate change is a global phenomenon impacting all landscapes. As designers working within the intersection of water bodies and public space, how we choose to address the effects of climate related conditions is criticall. Climate impacts are a combination of sudden, extreme, and chronic issues. Think storm surges and heavy flooding in combination with steady sea level rise and consistently higher temperatures. These conditions currently threaten valued public spaces within our urban communities. In New York City alone, parks make up almost 30 percent of the coastline.
A look back at what has led us to our current climate situation might help guide our decisions on resilience. Resource heavy construction has predominated waterfront design and continues to inform coastline projects that rely on seawalls and constructed barriers. The carbon input in single purpose gray infrastructure is grounded in practices that have contributed to the very conditions they aim to address. There is something inherently problematic in resource heavy practices as a design solution to climate change.
In breaking this cycle, Assemblage, in community with other design professionals, are voicing alternatives to single purpose solutions. We propose an approach to encroaching water that starts by looking at how natural systems inherently adapt to change. The interplay between land and water directs us toward green infrastructure and restorative solutions that absorb, slow, and redirect water. The park designed with this approach becomes an absorbent cushion, a resilient system designed to withstand and recover from intermittent flooding and rising water levels.
Assemblage’s recent work in the City of Hudson on the redesign of Henry Hudson Riverfront Park showcases a climate-adaptive approach that adapts to encroaching sea level rise. Our design for the park integrates restoration and enhanced natural systems alongside the community’s needs for open green space and water access. Restored wetlands, expanded access points, nature based recreation, and native plantings that fortify the water’s edge are all climate adaptive measures that result in a more resilient and adaptive park paradigm.
In the midst of climate-driven conditions, we see an opportunity to extend resilience beyond protection of the waterfront. A climate-adaptive waterfront builds upon ecological complexity and diversity in the design as well as in the program. As a result, the relationship between people and the waterfront grows stronger by offering a restored relationship to the ecosystem.
written for Assemblage by Lori Ball Horton