Integrated Resiliency Planning through BGI in a NYC setting

NYC faces increasing risks from the impacts of global climate change. With the provision of increased precipitation in the future, the reality of an aging underground stormwater system and the aspirations towards greener and more liveable cities, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is seeking to address intense rainfall through integration of grey and blue-green strategies into ongoing urban infrastructure planning.Looking towards the work conducted by Copenhagen on management of extreme rainfall (cloudburst), a similar approach is applied in a study area in New York City as part of a high-level resiliency planning study. The purpose of the study is to use the Copenhagen methodology as inspiration in developing a NYC approach to cloudburst management.The study is centered on the development of a cloudburst masterplan for a selected catchment area. Interactive workshops help facilitate the dialogue across the city agencies. Spatial, hydraulic and economic analysis help iterate the right combinations of projects in the cloudburst masterplan and to understand the climate adaptation effect over time.The outcome of the cloudburst resiliency planning study is a network of blue-green infrastructure projects developed by several city agencies and a lasting relationship among key stakeholders in the different city agencies involved in the process.