Designing Manhattan, New York, USA in the face of climate change

This paper describes the results of a recent urban design studio conducted at the University of Michigan's A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, USA. The studio focused on redesigning the borough of Manhattan in New York City in the face of climate change. The paper summarises the impetus behind the studio (recent ‘100-year’ storms symptomatic of climate changes that challenge Manhattan's habitability), outlines the study's goals and objectives (including leveraging climate-change mitigation strategies towards creating an economically and socially more equitable urban environment), describes features of the studio's concept for Manhattan related to infrastructure, waterfront and community development, and presents the studio process as an example of urban design pedagogy.