San Rafael’s Canal neighborhood has been selected as one of 10 Bay Area sites to get attention from a phalanx of architects, urban planners and environmentalists as part of a competition to battle sea-level rise.
Fueled by an almost $5 million grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, teams have been formed to tackle what researchers say is inevitable flooding brought on by climate change. A competition dubbed the “Resilient by Design Bay Area Challenge” is asking for plans to address the vexing issue that threatens several communities. Part of the focus is the protection of poor communities around the Bay Area.
San Rafael’s Canal neighborhood, which could become inundated as the bay rises, is one of the areas that will be studied, it was announced earlier this month. The threat of flood puts thousands of people — many of whom are low-income — at risk of losing their homes, cars and possessions.
“We have an opportunity to help the community address this flood risk issue,” said Jeff Rhoads, executive director of the nonprofit San Rafael-based Resilient Shore, who is helping facilitate the work. “The problem with sea-level rise is that it’s off in the future. We want to make sure the needs of the underrepresented immigrant community are taken into account now. Our focus is to help the city plan for these events and to ultimately develop a resilient shoreline for San Rafael so we can prepare our city so it won’t be inundated.”
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission maps show a 3-foot rise over the next 100 years would push the bay almost all the way to Highway 101 in parts of Novato, as well as cover low-lying areas of Mill Valley, Sausalito and Tiburon, among other areas.
As part of the competition over the next five months, local residents, city officials and community organizations will work alongside design teams to address specific threats in their communities.
“BionicTeam” is the group that will work in San Rafael. Initial design ideas include widening and curving San Rafael Creek, creating new bridges and buildings built at higher elevations, and offering improved water flow and new public space. The team’s design approach aims to provide more room for water and people, according to planners.
“This challenge brings the best minds together, from this region and beyond, to flip the script on how we approach resilience,” said Amanda Brown-Stevens, managing director of Resilient by Design. “We are stepping outside traditional approaches to address climate-related vulnerabilities before we feel their biggest impact.”
San Pablo Bay will be a separate area of study. Experts will look at ways to protect Highway 37 and freight rail lines in areas around San Pablo Bay that are subject to liquefaction in earthquakes and flooding. Initial plans there call for “a network of stable high grounds along the bay edge, while allowing undeveloped lowlands to adapt ecologically with sea level rise,” according to a report on that effort.
The design teams were selected from 51 groups made up of more than 350 local and global experts. Other projects that are part of the competition are: Oakland, San Leandro Bay, Oakland Coliseum; North Richmond; South San Francisco; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Mountain View; Alameda Creek watershed; Vallejo, Mare Island; San Francisco, Islais Creek and regional resilience for all Bay Area counties.
Concluding in May, the yearlong challenge will result in the 10 plans to be revealed just before Gov. Jerry Brown’s scheduled Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco.
“We are excited to work in tandem with the BionicTeam to design community-based, resilient solutions for the Canal district and central San Rafael,” said Douglas Mundo, a Canal resident and co-director of Shore Up Marin, a group that aims to help poor areas of the county prepare for rising seas. “BionicTeam has shown that they are committed to working in partnership with Shore Up Marin, and we’re pleased that they are putting social equity and community voices at the center of the planning process.”