Newtown Creek
ON-EDGE
Status: Ongoing
‘On-edge’ is a research project that considers alternate responses to sea level rise in New York City. Post-Sandy, most flood mitigation proposals have focused on technical solutions that keep water out; breakwaters, flood-gates, berms, barriers, etc. These strategies reflect an ingrained dichotomy between protected-land and threatening-water. Land is considered permanent, and flood waters ephemeral. Massive infrastructure costs are justified in terms of the underlying value of property, underwritten by our collective anxiety of water crossing certain thresholds.
A close look the city’s coastal history however, subverts any characterization of its edge as a fixed delineation between land and water. Rather, it is a zone in flux; reflecting the continuous re-overlapping of marine and urban ecosystems.
Our research analyzes mundane, under-noticed instances of adaptation along the city’s edge that illuminate the ripple effects of development patterns, land-use policy, and economic pressures. These examples hold promise both in forecasting responses to sea level rise, and expanding on the notion of what successful strategies look like if we are to adapt ecologically and equitably.