Healing Coastal Shorelines With Nature-Based Solutions

Shoreline Before / During / After Industry

 New York City’s shorelines were once dynamic ecosystems teeming with life – an intricate network of intertidal marshes, dunes, and beaches that sustained both natural systems and human communities for centuries. But our natural shorelines have been lost to transformation over time. It’s hard to imagine today, walking through a park or a green space, that beneath our feet may lie the buried remnants of tidal wetlands, their stories overwritten by industrialization.

Many of NYC’s shorelines share this hidden story. The onset of industrialization profoundly altered the city’s relationship with its waterfront. Wetlands were filled and reshaped with industrial by-products, leaving behind legacy contamination that remains invisible yet present. As waterfront access and resiliency becomes a renewed priority, so too does the challenge of making these spaces safer, healthier, and more resilient for the future. 

At the intersection of land and water, we embrace this challenge. Our work is grounded in the belief that resilient waterfronts are critical to the health of our city. We design with the goal of restoring the natural systems that once flourished here by integrating coastal vegetation and habitat into shorelines that have been shaped by urban infrastructure. These living systems clean and filter water, stabilize shorelines, and provide essential habitat for coastal species. Together with engineering, they create strong adaptive edges that can not only protect against climate change but also invite communities to reconnect with the water. Healing the shoreline is a restorative endeavor for the city and for the ecosystems that it supports!