Underwater: The Case for Land Island

Project Members
Enagement Method
Design
Action Area
Energy and the Environment
Health
Housing
Livelihoods
Strategic Priority
Tackling the Climate Crisis

This studio explored strategies for the resilient retrofit of the Nassau County communities of the Massapequas on South Shore Long Island in the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy. We focused on the area directly southeast of Levittown as a prototype for rethinking the existing organizational patterns of a densely developed suburban community that will continue to experience the destructive impacts of nature, into a community that is more economically, socially and environmentally resilient.

Building on extensive area studies, including the ongoing New York Rising area plan for the Massapequas coordinated by New York State with Arup and Sasaki Associates, this studio developed urban design proposals that negotiated between the need for visionary and large-scale solutions, and the more pragmatic demands related to local stakeholder concerns.

Underwater: The Case for Land Island

In recent years we have witnessed rapid environmental changes and an increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters impacting densely populated areas, as evident by Super Storm Sandy in the coastal northeast. At the same time, many US cities have also experienced a renewed interest in urban living, signaling a trending shift away from the profligate suburban model which dominated most of the second half of the 20th century and resulted in 75% percent of contemporary development, to a greater cosmopolitanism. Considering this cultural shift together with the ever-increasing natural and environmental challenges of 21st century, designers and planners will be required to envision bold new strategies for resilient urban and suburban retrofit.

This studio explored strategies for the resilient retrofit of the South Shore Long Island communities of the Massapequas in the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy. Students focused on the area directly southeast of Levittown, New York.

https://issuu.com/mit-dusp/docs/long_island

Project Members
Enagement Method
Design
Action Area
Energy and the Environment
Health
Housing
Livelihoods