The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched the Rebuild by Design (RBD) competition in the summer of 2013 to develop ideas to improve physical, ecological, economic, and social resilience in regions affected by Superstorm Sandy. The proposed project was one of the competition’s six winning concepts, developed with the goal of reducing frequent flooding due to storm surge, high tide, and heavy rainfall. HUD awarded $230 million to the State of New Jersey for the Project in the municipalities of Hoboken, Weehawken, and Jersey City.

The project takes a multi-faceted approach intended to address flooding from both major storm surges and high tides as well as from heavy rainfall events. The project’s comprehensive approach to resilience consists of four integrated components:

1. Resist:  a combination of  hard infrastructure (such as bulkheads, floodwalls and seawalls) and soft landscaping features (such as berms and/or levees which could be used as parks) that act as barriers along the coast during exceptionally high tide and/or storm surge events;
2. Delay: policy recommendations, guidelines and urban green infrastructure to slow stormwater runoff;
3. Store: green and grey infrastructure improvements, such as bioretention basins, swales, and green roofs, that slow down and capture stormwater, and which will complement the efforts of the City of Hoboken’s existing Green Infrastructure Strategic Plan; and
4. Discharge: enhancements to Hoboken’s existing stormwater management system, including the identification and upgrading of existing stormwater/sewer lines, outfalls and pumping stations.

For more information and project updates visit www.rbd-hudsonriver.nj.gov.