While the seawall protects the center of Galveston from flood damage on the Gulf side, the Bay side is entirely unprotected (as demonstrated during Ike, when most of the city center was inundated by the storm surge from the Bay side).  There is a clear need to protect the more densely populated city center, and decrease the exposure to storm surge on the Bay side of the island. In addition to minimizing future damage and loss of property within the center of Galveston, this project focuses on revitalizing this part of the island and developing sustainable, mixed-use, mixed-income residential and commercial districts.