High and Dry on the Waterfront
Zoning Practice — November 2013
By James Schwab, FAICP
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Hurricane Sandy damaged or destroyed nearly 650,000 homes in an arc ranging from Rhode Island to Maryland. It also killed 147 people in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
In New York City alone, 218,000 residents live within currently mapped floodplains. The city's study of its urban design options, Designing for Flood Risk, notes that 98 percent of the buildings destroyed by Sandy, and 94 percent of those severely structurally damaged, were built before 1983.
This issue of Zoning Practice discusses how coastal communities, such as New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey, are reforming development regulations to maintain the attractions of the urban shoreline while adequately protecting those areas from coastal storms and flooding.
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About the Author
James Schwab, FAICP
Jim Schwab is currently an "allegedly retired" planning consultant after leaving the APA Research Department in 2017, where he served as Manager of the Hazards Planning Center from 2008. He previously had been assistant editor of Planning Magazine and senior research associate. He led the development of numerous PAS Reports on hazard-related and environmental topics as well as training programs both in the U.S. and overseas. Since 2008, he has been adjunct assistant professor in the University of Iowa School of Planning and Public Affairs, and more recently has been a certified instructor for FEMA's Emergency Management Institute.