NYCDDC selects Dewberry to review resilience guidelines

Fairfax, Va. — The New York City Department of Design and Construction (NYCDDC) in association with the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency (ORR) selected Dewberry to provide preliminary design review services for development and testing of preliminary Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines on city capital projects across the city’s five boroughs: Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, and The Bronx.

Due to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events, the city developed guidelines in April 2017 to integrate forward-looking climate change data into the design process. NYCDDC and ORR selected Dewberry to review and improve these preliminary guidelines through 10 pilot studies and assess how the guidelines interact with New York City Code and engineering/architectural standards for building and infrastructure design.

“These guidelines will provide New York City with a consistent, city-wide policy and process on how to integrate climate change measures into the design of city buildings and infrastructure,” said Dewberry Associate and Project Manager Rahul Parab, PE, D.WRE, CFM. “Our main goal in reviewing and improving these guidelines is to help make sure the people and structures of New York City are protected against climate-related disasters and changes in environmental conditions.”

The guidelines will address various climate change hazards, including coastal storms, sea level rise, flooding from precipitation, increased average temperatures, and increased duration of heat waves.