Solution

Stormwater Storage, Parking & Green Infrastructure

This solution addresses managing floodwaters, constrained parking and limited open space in Hoboken, New Jersey for city, water utility, parking utility, and residents

Problem Description

Cities around the world are struggling to replace multiple types of aging, failing or inadequate infrastructure systems simultaneously. Large-scale and multi-sector integrated projects that address water, energy, telecommunications, and transportation priorities can create both public value and new private investment potential with sound financial returns and economic, social, and environmental integrity for the communities they serve. This solution creatively aligns transportation and water needs to solve a major resilience challenge—local flooding—by providing underground parking, increasing stormwater detention capacity, creating new community open and recreational spaces, and catalyzing economic development.

Building Blocks

Story

The proposed integrated infrastructure solution includes a single subsurface stormwater retention facility and a subsurface parking structure that could double as stormwater detention space in the case of a sudden flood or severe storm event, while maintaining green space at the surface for public use. Designing a multi-purpose infrastructure system helped to optimize and scale total project size to match local needs, capture multiple revenue streams for project payback, and assess potential savings due to both physical and financial risk reduction to create opportunities for new insurance-based financing mechanisms.

Resources

Contributed By

Elle Hempen, re:focus partners

Solution Stage

One of the 7 stages of an innovation. Learn more

STAGE	SPECIALIST SKILLS REQUIRED	EXAMPLE ACTIVITIES	RISK LEVEL AND HANDLING	FINANCE REQUIRED	KINDS OF EVIDENCE GENERATED	GOAL
Generating ideas2	Ideation and facilitation of creative thinking	Creativity methods Design tools Crowdsourcing Open innovation Awards and rewards Challenge prizes	High failure rate should be an explicit expectation Visible senior leadership essential HIGH	Usually grants, occassionally convertible LOW	A clear account of change or likely causation, supported – but not overly constrained – by evidence	An idea or set of ideas to develop and test

Submitted By

Elle Hempen