Rebuilding with resilience: Lessons from the rebuild by design competition after Hurricane Sandy

This study presents analysis of the six winning Hurricane Sandy Design Competition projects selected to demonstrate innovative approaches for rebuilding communities affected by Hurricane Sandy in ways that will enhance physical, social, economic, and environmental resilience. Two years into implementation, these projects are providing important lessons about how officials at all levels of government can design and construct infrastructure projects that deliver multiple community benefits. 

The report provides ten key takeaways: 

• Design for and encourage projects that provide multiple benefits.
• Achieving comprehensive resilience will require a long-term approach.
• Align multiple streams of funding & administrative requirements.
• Create more flexibility in disaster recovery.
• Identify additional funding sources to support long-term monitoring and maintenance.
• Use lessons learned from project implementation to reform permitting.
• Encourage coordination across agencies and levels of government.
• In addition to infrastructure projects, pursue legal and policy mechanisms.
• Encourage better pre-disaster planning and mitigation.
• Encourage robust public engagement and partnerships.