The Hudson Riverport

SCAPE collaborated with Perkins + Will to develop a conservation and resilience plan for the brownfield area of the Hudson Riverport in Kingston, New York. The goals for the landscape strategy were to enhance existing wetland buffers and vegetation to address increasing risk of flooding and sea level rise through innovative and layered approaches, protect and increase habitat on land and in water, create an all-season low-maintenance landscape for a unified and historic waterfront, and expand public access to the waterfront as a recreational resource. Through research and analysis of the city’s historical, ecological, and cultural context, SCAPE identified seven key sites of opportunity and vulnerability, developing a toolkit to increase Kingston’s resilience against emerging risks. The toolkit detailed interventions that integrated both waterfront and inland strategies, including a phased cut-and-fill approach to softening the edge and raising land to be developable. These integrated strategies not only provide recreational and cultural opportunities for residents, but they also provide critical habitat for various species in the region.