What we're reading this week | The #FridayFive

Coastal Flood Resilience Design Guidelines approved at BPDA Board Meeting
BPDA, September 13 
The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) Board of Directors voted to adopt the Coastal Flood Resilience Design Guidelines at its September Board Meeting. The Guidelines build on Climate Ready Boston, Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s ongoing initiative to help Boston plan for the impacts of climate change and build a more resilient future. The Coastal Flood Resilience Design Guidelines serve as a reference for residents, business owners and developers to translate flood resiliency strategies into best practices. [READ MORE]

This interactive map puts climate change into perspective
Lonely Planet, September 10, by Maya Stanton
To clearly illustrate the precarious position of some of America’s national parks, the folks at the Center for Investigative Reporting’s online platform, Reveal, examined the data to measure threat levels for major weather events that could hit in 2050, creating an interactive map detailing current high tides and predicting potential flood zones if disaster were to strike, including Boston and its harbor islands. [READ MORE]

Eastie’s Hurley a Winner in Mayor’s Garden Contest
East Boston Times-Free Press, September 7, by staff
Jeffries Point resident Dominique Hurley took home first prize for the for Small Yard garden category in Mayor Martin Walsh’s 2019 Garden Contest. This was the first time she was recognized in this self-described “citywide celebration of urban gardening.” Walsh described green-spaces, “as the key to our resiliency,” and in outlining Resilient Boston Harbor  he said vegetation could be used to cover preventative sea-walls. [READ MORE]

The New Architecture: Sky Parks, Tidal Pools and ‘Solar Carving’
The New York Times, September 13, by Karrie Jacobs
Can buildings be more porous, more open to the vitality of the surrounding city? As with the creation of the great urban parks of the 19th century, designers today are rebalancing the relationship between architecture and nature, with the goal of increasing the quality of life, especially in urban settings. Projects debuting this fall suggest that hard barriers between the designed environment and the natural one are softening — maybe for good. [READ MORE]

Color coordinating: How urban green infrastructure can build resilience
GreenBiz, September 10, by Jan Cassin
Green infrastructure reduces risks to gray infrastructure from hazards such as flooding and wildfire. It improves the performance and reduces the costs of operating gray water infrastructure when the two are integrated. In some cases, green infrastructure can be a more cost-effective alternative than gray. No one is bothering to grade our green infrastructure, yet keeping this infrastructure healthy is important to everyone in the United States. [READ MORE]