The Effects of the Envision Framework on a Large-Scale Northeast Coastal Resiliency Capital Infrastructure Project

The Red Hook Coastal Resiliency project (RHCR) will provide flood protection to the Super Storm Sandy impacted Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The capital project is a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)/City of New York joint funded project, whose design efforts are being led by the New York City Department of Design and Construction (NYCDDC) Infrastructure Division and their design consultant, NV5. In general, a flood resiliency project promotes sustainability, but as with any infrastructure project, there are inherent challenges. Yet, when the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework (Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, 2018) is used as a planning and design tool to assist in identifying and overcoming inherent challenges, it results in a sustainable, equitable, and resilient project that is beneficial to the community. The sustainable infrastructure team at NYCDDC consolidated its varied Infrastructure Division’s projects into 10 typologies. Referencing the Division’s General Requirements for Engineering Design and Related Services, the Design Guidelines and Directives, and lessons learned from earlier applications, baseline Envision verification ratings were calculated and assigned to each of the typologies. One of the difficulties in implementing the Envision framework into a capital project is encouraging the project team to address sustainability, resiliency, and equity while not sacrificing the main goals of the project. A strategy the design team implemented was to weave Envision-related discussions into every project meeting. This ensured that the Envision principles were evaluated in all discussions, which helped educate the design team and stakeholders. The application of the Envision framework on the RHCR project has initiated discussions focused on the reuse of materials, installation of alternative energy sources, multi-modal transportation connections, net embodied carbon analysis, and other topics that have bolstered the Envision rating for the RHCR project from a Coastal Resiliency Typology Gold Award baseline to a potential Envision Verification Platinum Award Level. Using the Envision framework, NYCDDC has influenced policy changes on a project scale in that the RHCR project will pilot NYCDDC’s new Sustainable Construction Specifications—incentivizing the contractor to implement strategies that support the project’s sustainable efforts. On an agency scale, NYCDDC’s Blueprint (NYCDDC, 2022) established a sustainability task force to review all incoming infrastructure projects and identify sustainable and resilient opportunities. The RHCR project is currently in the final design phase with many sustainable efforts identified and actively being examined for feasibility and implementation. As the first NYCDDC Coastal Resiliency Typology project using the Envision framework during the design phase, the foundation is being set for the future of New York City’s Coastal Resiliency Program.