Undergraduate Category: Humanities and Arts Degree Level: B.S. Arch Abstract ID#402
Carl Damas
Welcoming the Flood: Ecological Infrastructure for Resilient Urban Coastal Development The coming centuries will present unprecedented challenges to our infrastructure, requiring cities and societies to adapt to ever-more-rapidly changing climate conditions. In particular, rising sea levels and increasingly volatile weather will bring a greater possibility of coastal flooding. As of 2010, 44% of the world’s population lives in low-lying areas susceptible to this new condition. Sustainable and resilient development of coastlines is critical to the future of our cities. Boston is positioned to exemplify this new style of sustainable development. As a low-lying city on the coast, special consideration will have to be taken to secure its economic prosperity well into the future. This project, completed as part of the School of Architecture's urbanism studio, examines the site of Assembly Square in Somerville, MA (2 miles north of downtown) in the context of flood management. The site is unique as it is subject to potential flooding from the Mystic River as well as regular stormwater runoff flooding. Any new development here has to respond to the possibility of serious flooding events. I propose a new infrastructure that integrates ecological features such as reclaimed wetlands and marshes, with the other systems operating on the site in order to effectively manage the floods. Not only would this strategy reduce the risk of property loss, it can also transform the flood from an event to be feared into one that can be welcomed.
The area eventually known as Assembly Square, situated at the mouth of the Mystic River where freshwater met salty Atlantic seawater was originally a brackish water marsh and palustrine wetland. That heritage is still visible today at the Mystic Dam, the official end of the federal navigation channel and the transition point from salt to freshwater as one moves upstream. Reintroduction of these natural wetlands produces a number of positive outcomes to the district, which has seen over a century of industrial and later commercial development.
The most important feature of wetlands from a human perspective is their hydrological function. Wetlands are critical to the storage of floodwater, providing a natural buffer between dry and flooded land. A properly maintained wetland barrier can store millions of gallons of potentially devastating water, slowing or stopping the advance of a flood and potentially preventing loss of life and property damage.
At left is a transect of the potential for a new urban typology of streets Further intervention and planting of wetlands can also provide an additional laminated with wetlands of different zones, such that fluctuations in layer to groundwater discharge infrastructure. Assembly Square and the water level are like any other change of weather: at worst, a Somerville are exemplary of an alarming urban condition of "pavedness", the nuisance and at best, an enjoyable experience. result of which is that moderate to severe rainstorms can also trigger flood conditions. At right, an investigation in section of the different zones of a palustrine wetland, with examples of plants potentially found therein.
Aquatic Bed
Emergent Wetland
Scrubland
Permanent Submersion
Intermittent/ Semipermanent Flooding
Seasonal/Occasional Flooding
Water Lily (Nymphoides Aquatica)
LATENT WATER CONDITIONS + INTERVENTION
DISTRICT PLAN
Wetlands also provide stable habitats for a great many plant and animal species, a natural resource to be preserved and enjoyed. This makes them ideal classrooms and laboratories as well as diverse places for exploration and recreation.
Upland Meadow
Eastern Deciduous Forest
Bullrush/Cattail (Typha)
New York Ironweed (Veronia Noveboracensis)
Wildflowers
American Elm (Ulmus)
Reed (Phragmites)
New England Aster (Aster Nova-angliae)
Flowering Shrubs
Maple (Acer)
Sallow Sedge (Carex Lurida)
Tall Grasses
Sycamore (Plantanus Occidentalis)
URBAN FRAMEWORK