Protection of New York City Urban Fabric With Low-Cost Textile Storm Surge Barriers

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of low-cost textile storm surge barriers to protect New York City from hurricanes, emphasizing their advantages over traditional concrete and steel barriers in terms of cost, replaceability, and macro-engineering planning.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of homogeneous textile storm surge barriers as a practical, cost-effective alternative for urban flood protection in NYC, considering macro-project planning complexities.

Findings

Textile barriers are less expensive than traditional barriers.

Homogeneous textile materials may be easier to replace after failure.

Early macro-engineering planning can optimize barrier deployment.

Abstract

Textile storm surge barriers, sited at multiple locations, are literally extensions of the city world famous urban fabric - another manifestation of the dominance of the City over local Nature. Textile Storm Surge Barriers (TSSB) are intended to preserve the City from North Atlantic Ocean hurricanes that cause sea waves impacting the densely populated and high-value real estate, instigating catastrophic, and possibly long-term, infrastructure and monetary losses. Complicating TSSB installation macroproject planning is the presence of the Hudson and other rivers, several small tidal straits, future climate change and other factors. We conclude that TSSB installations made of homogeneous construction materials are worthwhile investigating because they may be less expensive to build, and more easily replaced following any failure, than concrete and steel storm surge barriers, which are also made of homogeneous materials. We suppose the best macroproject outcome will develop in the perfect Macro-engineering planning way and at the optimum time-of-need during the very early 21st Century by, among other groups, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. TSSB technology is a practical advance over wartime harbor anti-submarine/anti-torpedo steel nets and rocky Churchill Barriers.