On October 6, 2011, Klaus Jacob gave the inaugural AIANY Design for Risk and Reconstruction (DfRR) presentation entitled “Vision: New York 2080.” His presentation explored the ever-changing environment of the New York region, natural and man-made, that provides the context in which we design, build, and live. Jacob looked forward beyond the 2030 or 2050 benchmarks, illuminating the opportunities and risks that need to be addressed in the design and adaptive reconstruction of the region’s built environment. This was before Hurricane Sandy.
It has been five years since Jacob first spoke and he has agreed to return, reflect upon, and comment on the changes that have taken place since then and the circumstances we now face moving forward. Jacob will review post-Sandy rebuilding efforts and ongoing urban development in NYC. He will provide insights from the context of development purely to satisfy short and medium term economic needs as opposed to those that meet the long term sustainable vision for the City considering open-ended sea level rise predictions in excess of 10 feet. Jacob and our respondent panel of urbanists will discuss whether it is possible to meet both needs. They will address the question, are we really prepared to plan for serious sea level rise?
