For example, last year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed a plan centered on seawalls and gates intended to protect Miami, Florida, from storm surges and rising sea levels. The community protested, arguing that the plan would obscure iconic views and damage property values. Instead, landscape architecture firm Curtis & Rogers Design Studio offered a nature-based alternative that includes reconstructed barrier islands with mangrove shorelines that will absorb and reduce wave impact—a plan that garnered international media attention.

This scenario illustrates the importance of considering green infrastructure alternatives from the beginning, rather than staying stuck on business-as-usual approaches. In my field, landscape architects are seeing an uptick in demand from clients for green infrastructure alternatives, but that same survey also makes it clear that many leaders still aren’t thinking about or requesting such solutions—an opportunity for forward-thinking leaders!

The Living Breakwaters project off the coast of Staten Island in New York is a model for climate-resilient green infrastructure design. In fact, the project’s lead, Kate Orff, was just named among Time’s 100 Most Influential People for this work. Staten Island’s Tottenville community experienced loss of life and terrible damage to homes and businesses during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Built as part of storm recovery efforts, Living Breakwaters is exactly what its name suggests. New offshore reefs reduce the height and intensity of waves before they reach shore. The reefs also provide a habitat for oysters, fish, and other species, supporting healthy ecosystems and local livelihoods.

This leads to a second principle for preparedness-minded leaders: Seek out win-win solutions in which infrastructure decisions create multiple benefits for your business, your employees, your community, and the environment on which we all depend.

In Texas, the memory of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 still looms large after a record-setting 60 inches of rainfall. That storm was a test for Houston’s Buffalo Bayou Park, which had been newly reconstructed in 2015 by landscape architecture firm SWA. Located in a floodplain, the 169-acre park serves two purposes. During long stretches of calm weather, it is a popular park for walking, running, biking and other community activities. Then, during storms, it collects and redirects stormwater. It’s estimated that during Hurricane Harvey alone, the new design helped to avoid an estimated $2 million in damages, and that it has sparked $2 billion in investment in adjacent neighborhoods.   

Of course, a sobering, but important, consideration is how we approach rebuilding and recovery if disaster does strike. Here, too, prioritizing storm resilience as we rebuild is key.

In Louisiana, the Lafitte Greenway, was once a flooded brownfield site during Hurricane Katrina. Today, it is a 40-acre park. The park’s water retention gardens (also known as bioswales or rain gardens) absorb and filter stormwater with the help of 1,000 cypress trees—a native species that originally covered the landscape. This work was led in partnership with Friends of Lafitte Greenway and the firm Spackman, Mossop, Michaels. 

This leads to a final point for leaders: In your resilience planning and other aspects of your work, consider the importance of nature and biodiversity (a term describing all the different types of life in our environment, and how they interrelate). Nature can help protect human infrastructure from extreme weather—as noted in the preceding examples with oyster reefs slowing waves or rain gardens and tree plantings absorbing floodwaters. Nature also supports half the world’s GDP according to the World Economic Forum—in other words, nature is good for business for many reasons.

Heavy rain associated with strong coastal storms often compromises local water quality. In North Carolina, the City of Durham identified a specific neighborhood where nearly 100 residential backyards could play an outsized role in reducing pollution flowing into the Falls Lake watershed. Landscape architect Keith Bowers and the Biohabitats team partnered on the Rain Catcher Stormwater Control project to plant trees, develop rain gardens, and make other adjustments. These measures slow down water movement and filter water naturally, which reduces runoff and water pollution. The trees and plants also create a habitat for birds, pollinators, and other beneficial organisms, achieving storm resilience goals and strengthening the web of life on which we—and our businesses—ultimately depend.