Resilient Bridgeport

Team Leads: Waggonner & Ball Architects and unabridged Architecture Landscape, Planning and Community Engagement: Gulf Coast Community Design Studio Ecology, Urban and Landscape Design: Yale University Coastal Engineering and Stormwater Management: ARCADIS Affiliates: Carl Pucci, Kathy Dorgan, Robbert DeKoning, Derek Hoeferlin, Don Watson

Source: Rebuild by Design

The City of Bridgeport is the most densely populated, ethnically diverse, and socially vulnerable city in Connecticut, and provides much-needed affordable housing for the area.

Situated on the coast of Long Island Sound, Bridgeport is vulnerable to sea level rise, which would inundate power plants, wastewater treatment plants, hospitals, a financial center, sports and entertainment facilities, and a university. By 2100, it is predicted that over half of Bridgeport could flood regularly. Transportation infrastructure, including the regional rail from Boston to New York City and the busy interstate highway, could be chronically disrupted.

Project Details: Location: Bridgeport, Connecticut Award: $10 Million Implemented By: State of Connecticut, Department of Housing

Source: Rebuild by Design

Resilient Bridgeport lays out a comprehensive approach to protecting against climate change and storm surge and rainfall flooding that is also designed to stimulate environmental restoration, economic development, and neighborhood revitalization.

The pilot project from this plan focuses on the South End neighborhood, a low-lying peninsula exposed to sea level rise and storm surge. To better protect and connect the neighborhood, the plan seeks to elevate Singer Street, build a waterfront berm in historic Seaside Park, and establish offshore breakwaters.

The proposal also includes a South End Resilience Education and Community Center, potentially providing the area’s 12,600 residents with workforce training, a fresh food cooperative, a health care clinic, a senior center, and child care facilities. The center could provide emergency shelter for up to 1,500 people.

View the team's full proposal here Source: Rebuild by Design

The State of Connecticut received $10 million for the development of a multi-neighborhood strategy and for the implementation of a pilot project that achieves flood risk reduction in the South End's public and affordable housing.

The design team is working with the community to make progress toward identifying the pilot project. Resilient Bridgeport is developing this pilot project as the first implementation step within the larger strategy for the city of Bridgeport. $42 million of additional funding was awarded to Bridgeport to build the next several projects from the larger strategy as a part of the National Disaster Resilience Competition.

Source: Rebuild by Design