Flood-resilient waterfront development in New York City: bridging flood insurance, building codes, and flood zoning

Waterfronts are attractive areas for many—often competing—uses in New York City (NYC) and are seen as multifunctional locations for economic, environmental, and social activities on the interface between land and water. The NYC waterfront plays a crucial role as a first line of flood defense and in managing flood risk and protecting the city from future climate change and sea-level rise. The city of New York has embarked on a climate adaptation program (PlaNYC) outlining the policies needed to anticipate the impacts of climate change. As part of this policy, the Department of City Planning is currently preparing Vision 2020: New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan for the over 500 miles of NYC waterfront (NYC-DCP, 2011). An integral part of the vision is to improve resilience to climate change and sea-level rise. This study seeks to provide guidance for advancing the goals of NYC Vision 2020 by assessing how flood insurance, flood zoning, and building code policies can contribute to waterfront development that is more resilient to climate change

B.S.U. Human Performance Lab : an architectural thesis for a sports medicine research center

The project is proposed for Ball State University, a publicly supported state university enrolling 18,000 students, located in Muncie, Indiana. The current facility, located just north of University Gym, has grown dramatically over the last ten years into a 10,000 square foot complex. Research, involving humans and animals, focuses on the physiology of speed and endurance. Participants in testing range from Ball State students and athletes to world class runners and professional football players.The new Human Performance Lab will be located on the Northeast corner of McKinley Avenue and Petty Road between University Gym and the Lewellen Aquatic Center in an effort to reinforce the functional relationships between it and other elements of the Physical Education Department, Its location is a prominent site appropriate for a facility which may be a regional base for sports medicine and research.It is important that, on the outside, the building portray a positive public image while, at the same time, respecting the needs of privacy necessary for the research and testing going on inside. It should respect the existing building context both in scale, form and material while attempting to convey its own personality by expression of interior function through its exterior vocabulary.Thesis (B. Arch.)College of Architecture and Plannin

B.S.U. Human Performance Lab : an architectural thesis for a sports medicine research center

The project is proposed for Ball State University, a publicly supported state university enrolling 18,000 students, located in Muncie, Indiana. The current facility, located just north of University Gym, has grown dramatically over the last ten years into a 10,000 square foot complex. Research, involving humans and animals, focuses on the physiology of speed and endurance. Participants in testing range from Ball State students and athletes to world class runners and professional football players.The new Human Performance Lab will be located on the Northeast corner of McKinley Avenue and Petty Road between University Gym and the Lewellen Aquatic Center in an effort to reinforce the functional relationships between it and other elements of the Physical Education Department, Its location is a prominent site appropriate for a facility which may be a regional base for sports medicine and research.It is important that, on the outside, the building portray a positive public image while, at the same time, respecting the needs of privacy necessary for the research and testing going on inside. It should respect the existing building context both in scale, form and material while attempting to convey its own personality by expression of interior function through its exterior vocabulary.College of Architecture and PlanningThesis (B. Arch.

Flood Hazards, Insurance Rates, and Amenities: Evidence From the Coastal Housing Market

This study employs the hedonic property price method to examine the effects of flood hazard on coastal property values. We utilize Geographic Information System data on National Flood Insurance Program flood zones and residential property sales from Carteret County, North Carolina. Our results indicate that location within a flood zone lowers property value. Price differentials for flood risk and the capitalized value of flood insurance premiums are roughly equivalent-both exhibiting a nonlinear relationship in flood probability. Our results support the conclusion that flood zone designation and insurance premiums convey risk information to potential buyers in the coastal housing market. Copyright The Journal of Risk and Insurance, 2008.

UK flood insurance: the challenge of the uninsured

Increasing concern about flooding and its potentially socially-devastating effects has reinforced the need for an effective mechanism to deal with the recovery of losses from these events. This paper highlights the problem of uninsurance in the UK and the potentially growing number of people who do not have flood insurance. A dual challenge of uninsurance is emerging: those who have been traditionally excluded from insurance cover due to price and a new phenomenon, those who live in high-risk areas who may become cost-prohibited through the introduction of risk-related premiums