Masters Thesis Project

Resilient NYC proposes an urban design solution for the East River waterfront and its adjacent neighborhoods. The project incorporates low-impact landscape systems and re-programming of East River Park. Issues of ecological resiliency, water quality, recreation, ferry and water taxi transportation, and pedestrian access are primary to the waterfront concept. Restoring the East River to the tidal strait it once was will not be possible, but through a series of ecological and civic interventions, the proposal begins to reclaim the public waterfront and foster ecological stability over time. A physical remnant of urban renewal that has yet to be resolved is the disconnect between pre-war, fine-grained buildings within mixed-use blocks and the post-war, large-scale towers in a park. Resilient NYC begins to weave these urban forms together through new typologies, while preserving the diversity of the neighborhood. The project utilizes a mixed-use strategy incorporating affordable housing, commercial and retail space, and market value housing. As the proposal will connect the neighborhood to the waterfront, a primary theme of the project becomes defining the dialogue with the water’s edge through infrastructure, landscape, and public life.