Mapping Real Estate Development in the NYC Floodplain

New York, NY, USA.

By Victoria Wagner Woods
climate change, flood risk, fema, real estate

This site's central task is to highlight the relationship between real estate development and the inevitable impacts of climate change in NYC.

As of March 30th, 2021, 6130 buildings are actively being constructed in New York City. This may seem like a promising signal of the city’s rebirth, especially when considering the havoc that the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked upon its communities. However, increased investment in coastal development paints a false picture of how vulnerable these very areas are to flooding. After realizing this duality, my task became clear: I hoped to capture those tensions on a map.

I was motivated to create this map for two reasons.

Firstly, I recognize how difficult it can be to conceptualize flood risk. Real estate developers are eager to build, even if these buildings rest upon unsafe foundations. This creates a disingenuous narrative: if money is being invested in construction, it is “safe”. In reality, 4 out of the 5 NYC boroughs are not attached to the mainland United States, making them even more susceptible to sea-level rise (and thus flood risk). However, it takes years, even decades, for such a change to become apparent.

Secondly, cultural memory with regard to climate change is fairly limited. I wanted to give viewers an opportunity to immerse themselves in both the past and the future by situating boundaries of neighborhoods affected by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and points for new building developments right up against one another.

The content in the map can hopefully act as a ground to brainstorm, think freely, and reflect. In order to assist with this, viewers are given the opportunity to toggle through building data in ways that they can fully control.

Though I am keeping the narrative structure of the map relatively fluid, there are two points that I hope to portray clearly: We should not need to experience a disaster to learn about flood risk and vulnerability. With the knowledge provided in this map, those with the social and political capital necessary to make infrastructural change can advocate for shifts in city priorities.

This site is meant to be a constant work in progress and a highly collaborative effort.

In order to encourage reflection and begin dialogue, I set up a Contact form, from which questions, comments, and criticisms are encouraged to be aired. Guests are also welcome to answer a few questions about their own relationship to flooding in New York City; it is my hope that this project will continue and evolve over time with the addition of information from community members.