Flooding, Public Parks, & Marshes

| Daniel Cazap | Paul Cho | Joe McLaughlin | Radu Stancut | Christopher Tull

Spatial AnalyticsFinal Project

5.13.2015

In response to the unforeseen damages from Hurricane Sandy, New York State announced a program pursuant to which the State would purchase highly vulnerable properties, tear down existing structures, and convert such properties into permanent open space.

Resiliency Initiative

Can we create a tool to help New York State find groupings of “at risk” properties that qualify for its Smart Home Buyout Program?

Problem Statement

● Program budget limited to $171 million

● Absence of data about individual housing units that sustained damage

● Real world constraints and externalities (Resident consent, property proximity)

Constraints

NYC Floodplainfrom ‘FEMA’

Building ‘Basemap’: Floodplain

Building Age

Lot Type

Land Usage

Number of Floors

Proximity Code

Owner

Before 1983

Waterfront, Island, or Submerged

Vacancy

Detached Housing

One and Two Story Homes

+

City, State, Federal

Observed Attributes

Wetlands in New York Statefrom ‘National Wetlands Inventory’

Clip ‘Wetlands’ for New York City

Building ‘Basemap’: Wetlands [Marshes]

Waterfront Parks

+ PAWS (Publicly Accessible Waterfront Spaces)

+ Parks

Building ‘Basemap’: Parks

Site Selection: Criteria

Identify high-risk properties:

● Far from existing parks○ Provide recreation space○ Improve park equity

● Near existing wetlands○ Minimize habitat fragmentation○ Promote species diversity

Lehtinen, R. M., Galatowitsch, S. M., & Tester, J. R. (1999). Consequences of habitat loss and fragmentation for wetland amphibian assemblages.Wetlands, 19(1), 1-12.

Site Selection: Result

> 1700 ft. from a parkAND< 1000 ft. from a wetland

Region of Interest: Hamilton Beach, Queens

● High-risk, single-family homes

● Next to existing wetland

● Relatively inexpensive land ($26.6M based on Zillow zestimates)

Constructed wetlands

Industrial Synergy?

Identified by Both Tools

Parks and Marshland Proximity Tool Factory Proximity Tool

Income Considerations

Density Considerations

Conclusions & Next Steps

➢ Floods are real and costly risks faced by many NY’ers; Paid for by all.

➢ Limited Green Space

➢ Marshes Mitigate Industrial Runoff

➢ An opportunity for synergy

➢ The real world is messier than this analysis, especially when dealing with people’s homes.

Thank you / Q & A