Damage from back-to-back category 5 hurricanes in Cruz Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
While the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season is just around the corner, planning for resiliency is a year-round effort. Identifying how our communities could be better planned to withstand the impacts of a future of stronger storms and how better neighborhood design can support a more dignified recovery process in both the short- and long-term, has never been more important.
Recently our team has had the privilege of working with the City of Panama City, FL as it has made continuous progress in its recovery from Cat 5 Hurricane Michael in 2018 which uprooted 80% of its urban tree canopy and damaged or destroyed 90% of the city’s buildings. Working with the City, we were charged with charting a course forward that would help the city rebuild in a resilient way that celebrates its relationship with the coast and improves quality of life for all. Focusing originally on drafting the Strategic Vision for Downtown and its Waterfront, DK&P worked closely with community members to identify a common goal of breathing new life into the Downtown core with updates to the zoning code, a redesign of the city’s main street, Harrison Avenue, with a curbless, pedestrian-oriented, tree lined streetscape and central plaza, as well as supporting further revitalization of vacant and underutilized sites. Our team then took on the task of bringing this effort to the surrounding neighborhoods of Millville, Glenwood, and St. Andrews in an effort to ensure that recovery resources could be shared equitably across the city. Find out more about the continuing recovery effort in Panama City here: rebuildpc.org.
Next month, DK&P will be part of a team led by Horsley Witten Group working with non-profit leader Love City Strong and the community of Cruz Bay on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands to assist in the ongoing recovery journey from the two back-to-back Cat 5 hurricanes of Maria and Irma in 2017. Building on its previous charrette successes in Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas, the DK&P team will facilitate a public charrette June 11th – 16th that will continue to center the wisdom of local residents from a long history of living with hurricanes and identify key strategies to be implemented at the building, block, and neighborhood scales to allow the community to be better prepared for the next storm. Visit lovecitystrongvi.org to learn more.
Touring Cruz Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Touring Cruz Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands