WB unabridged with Yale ARCADIS
New York

Long Island is densely settled by over 2.5 million people and about 41,000 people on Long Beach Barrier Island.  Sea level rise and increasing storm surge will require intensification of the high ground in both locations, along with development of strong connections for commuting, trade, and evacuation.  On the barrier island, a satellite relocating the transit center will be built at flood-resistant elevation near the east-west corridor of Broadway, including a community activity hall, commercial functions, and senior housing.  In times of crisis, if evacuation from the island is not possible, the hall becomes a community shelter, and seniors may remain at home.

By 2080, much of the barrier island will be underwater.  Cars will be left at Island Park, and access will be via water taxi or an elevated rail line.   Marshes will reclaim the lower bayside of the island, hosting only independent colonies of stilt houses.  An elevated east-west streetcar along Broadway will connect the remaining communities of the 9-mile long island.  Ground floor uses will transition to floodproof retail and commercial spaces.

At the inland location, Rockville Centre demonstrates safe elevation, net-zero utility use, mixed commercial uses, restored estuary edges and recreation, and intensified housing along the Long Island Rail Road line.  It models the self-sufficiency and increased density of a new type of transit-oriented development.