by Girish Sreevatsan Nandakumar
Contributing Writer
The Hampton Roads Sea Level Rise and Flooding Adaptation Forum met recently to discuss ideas and projects on building resilience. Participants included academics, practitioners, and government officials. “Such events facilitate the confluence of ideas incubated by academics with private sector implementation,” said Dr. Michelle Covi, an assistant professor of practice in the Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department at Old Dominion University and a Virginia Sea Grant extension staff member.
David Pryor, from Clark Nexson, discussed coastal flood mitigation techniques in industrial environments based on the firm’s experiences working with the US Navy and the Port of Virginia in the Hampton Roads area. Pryor highlighted solutions including how temporary, demountable, and fixed barriers can be used to mitigate flooding.
Jori Erdman, an architecture professor at Louisiana State University (LSU) and Phoebe Crisman, an associate professor of architecture at University of Virginia (UVA), also presented their ideas. The former talked about LSU’s sustainability studio’s role in bringing together different resources, while the latter discussed urban coastal resilience ideas, including their learning barge project. Crisman also discussed the ‘greening Ingleside front-to-back’ project , a Virginia Sea Grant funded project that involved the Civic League of Ingleside and other partners such as Wetlands Watch and the Elizabeth River Project. This project, thanks to active local community engagement, inspired a progressive, collective vision for the future of Ingleside as a sustainable neighborhood.
Edgar Westerhof, from Arcadis, discussed lessons from adaptation efforts from Boston and New York city. Johnny Martin, from Moffatt and Nichol, discussed ideas around integrating Green Infrastructure at St. Roch, a historic New Orleans neighborhood. The forum ended with a presentation by Aishwarya Borate, a graduate student from Virginia Tech and a Virginia Sea Grant Summer Intern at Clark Nexson. Ms. Borate discussed the role of social capital in disaster resiliency, based on data she collected for the City of Hampton.
The forum provides an opportunity for researchers and designers to share their latest findings concerning sea level rise and potential adaptation options. It also aims to spark a dialogue between all stakeholders in the issue. By facilitating and maintaining this dialogue VASG, Old Dominion University and the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission hope that those with an extensive knowledge of best practices will be able to connect and collaborate with those who are looking to implement solutions. Architecture firms, urban planners, government officials, and university researchers are all among the groups represented at the forum. This quarter, the theme was “The Next Step to Resilience — Projects and Ideas.”
The PDF presentations from the July Hampton Roads Adaptation Forum can be downloaded here.
Top Photo: Living shorelines that would buffer against sea level rise and recurrent flooding. Courtesy of Aishwarya Borate.
