Alexandria, Virginia's waterfront was built on landfill below the natural elevation of the Potomac River. City officials hope to build new seawalls to protect that area from floods.
Alexandria, Virginia floods regularly. "These floods do not yet severely affect the infrastructure in the flood zone, but the city has a significant maintenance budget nonetheless," Rita Abou Samra reports for Greater Greater Washington. These small floods can carry debris into the city and disrupt transit around the waterfront. But officials worry that with climate change making "100-Year Storms" more common, the city could suffer something worse than a waterlogged coast.
Alexandria has moved the Old Dominion Boat Club and intends to implement some flood calming measures. "Among them: a continuous riverfront promenade that acts as a seawall and protects against rising waters, which the currently fragmented shoreline does not," Abou Samra reports. Implementing flood protection looks to be a long process that the city hopes to complete in phases, beginning with shoreline improvements and moving inland from there.
"The new waterfront plan aims to preserve the area's history, reclaim its parks and make them more usable for more people, and to mitigate the impacts of floods," Samra reports.
FULL STORY: Alexandria is already often waterlogged. How will it adjust to climate change?
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
Dallas Surburb Bans New Airbnbs
Plano’s city council banned all new permits for short-term rentals as concerns about their impacts on housing costs grow.
Divvy Introduces E-Bike Charging Docks
New, circular docks let e-bikes charge at stations, eliminating the need for frequent battery swaps.
How Freeway Projects Impact Climate Resilience
In addition to displacement and public health impacts, highway expansions can also make communities less resilient to flooding and other climate-related disasters.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.