resiliency

Planning for Resiliency Along Boston Harbor

Wharf District Resiliency Plan: A District-Wide, Adaptable Plan for Boston Harbor

The Wharf District Council Conceptual District Protection & Resiliency Masterplan, released in June of 2023, details a shared vision of a district, long-term, flood resilience strategy for the Boston harbor based on a years-long engagement of residents, business and property owners, institutions, and other stakeholders. Building on past planning studies by the City of Boston, as well as property owners’ own engineering studies, the plan evaluated potential solutions to design a flood-mitigation system that preserves the character and function of the waterfront while expanding opportunity and access across the site.

Our team served as landscape architecture and urban design consultants for the Master Plan, partnering with a project team that included Wharf District Council and prime consultants Arup. Our consultant team was brought in to assess the spatial and social impacts of resilient engineering and design solutions and to visualize the planning recommendations through compelling graphics that engaged stakeholders and the community and that realized the shared district-scale resiliency plan.

Thorough investigations began with stakeholder and equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) partner engagement, with collecting flood hazard insights, and with aligning to prior planning initiatives. A due-diligence assessment was conducted to review prior planning, technical, and regulatory information, as well as access and usage considerations.

The final resiliency plan created a raised contiguous Harborwalk experience that unifies and expands recreational, social, cultural, and economic opportunities while providing long-term flood mitigation and infrastructural systems like new outfall storage cisterns, pump stations, and redundant fail-safe systems to create a flexible, segmented sub-district strategy that facilitates a phased construction. 

The City of Boston’s Climate Ready Boston and Coastal Resilience Solutions reports provide guidelines for district-scale flood resiliency projects, including Design Flood Elevations (DFEs), Alignments, Evaluation Criteria, and Strategies. The Wharf District resiliency plan built off these prior planning efforts by using these guidelines and incorporating updated flood models prepared for MassDOT. The report recommends designing improvements to meet the City’s existing “Target DFEs”, then raising protection systems over time to meet the newer “Strategic DFEs” while seeking opportunities to improve the Harborwalk experience and connectivity.

Read the full plan on the Wharf District Council’s website.

Bob Uhlig participates in East Boston Flood Prevention Design Workshop for NOAH/ULI

Bob Uhlig participates in East Boston Flood Prevention Design Workshop for NOAH/ULI

Organized by East Boston’s Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) of Boston/New England, the East Boston Flood Prevention Design Workshop brought together teams of experts and the community to brainstorm ways to protect East Boston from sea level rise and the effects of climate change.

Halvorson Design participates in East Boston Flood Prevention Design Workshop

Halvorson Design participates in East Boston Flood Prevention Design Workshop

On May 18 and 19, Bob Uhlig of Halvorson Design joins a team of experts for the East Boston Flood Prevention Design Workshop, sponsored by ULI Boston/New England and NOAH (Neighborhood of Affordable Housing). The goal of this event is to work with the community to create a shared and inclusive vision for protecting East Boston from sea level rise and coastal storm flooding.

Climate Ready South Boston hosts second Open House

Climate Ready South Boston hosts second Open House

Robert Barton of Greenovate recaps some of the feedback received at the second open house for Climate Ready South Boston, an extensive resilience study by Arcadis, Halvorson Design, the Woods Hole Group, and CivicMoxie for the City of Boston to develop strategies to prepare for the short and long-term impacts of climate change and stormwater surges. 

Press: Clippership Wharf turns abandoned wharves in Boston into cool condos

Press: Clippership Wharf turns abandoned wharves in Boston into cool condos

Clippership Wharf, designed by The Architectural Team for Sydney-based developer LendLease, features a harbourside footpath, rocky beach and “living shoreline”.designed by Halvorson Design. 

“The living shoreline is all about interaction,” explains Robert Adams, principal of landscape architecture firm Halvorson Design. “It offers a real opportunity for people living along the harbour to get right down to the water’s edge and experience the tidal fluctuations, native plants and marine life that inhabit this area.”

Passport to a Climate Resilient South Boston

Passport to a Climate Resilient South Boston

Greenovate Boston shared updates from the Climate Ready South Boston Open House, where residents and stakeholders gathered to get updates on the project and share their insights. Led by Arcadis, a global leader in climate resilience, the team for the South Boston Resiliency Study includes Halvorson Design Partnership, CivicMoxie, Harriet Tregoning, coUrbanize, HR&A and the Woods Hole Group.