Reimagining Newport Harbor 2050 – A Strategic Implementation Plan

Re-imagining Newport Harbor in 2050 An Incremental Strategic Plan to Transform Newport’s Harbor Waterfront As Sea Level Conাnues To Rise

Acknowledgments This plan was created as part of the Fall 2019 Studio at University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design. The team would like to express that the experience of working on this plan has been deeply meaningful, very relevant, and expanded our personal and professional views on resiliency planning. This project was generously supported by the Van Buren Charitable Founda on in Rhode Island as its mission aims to make the State at the forefront of adapta on planning in equitable ways.

The authors of this document would like to thank coastal community planner Teresa Crean, from the Coastal Resources Center at University of Rhode Island, for all her help and con nued guidance on developing this plan. We would also like to thank Janet Freedman, Coastal Geologist & Caitlin Chaffee, Policy Analyst from RI Coastal Resources Management Center, Shaun O’Rourke, Chief Resiliency Officer at the State of RI, Pam Rubinoff, Senior Coastal Manager at the Coastal Resources Center at University of Rhode Island, Tuni Schartner, Director of Entrepreneurship and Innova on at Innovate Newport, Dave McLaughlin & Max Kraimer from Clean Ocean Access, Evan Smith, President & CEO of Discover Newport, Peter Friedrichs, City Planner for the city of Newport, and Helen Johnson, Historic Preserva on Planner for the city of Newport for guiding us during our me in Newport.

Finally, we would like to thank our instructors, Sco Page and Jamie Granger, for their support and helping us refine our thoughts at every stage of the process.

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Re-imagining Newport Harbor 2050

About the Team

Yannan Cai

Public Private Development

Cheng Kai

Shuchang Dong

Public Private Development

Shravanthi Kanekal

Justin Ritchey

Public Private Development

Land Use & Environmental Planning

Laure Wassen

Yuchen Zhang

Scott Page

Jamie Granger

Community & Economic Development

Interface Studio

Matthew Fishman

Smart Cities

Urban Design

Andrea Gonzalez

Community & Economic Development

Yijia Liu

Sustainable Transportation

Smart Cities

Interface Studio

Teresa Crean

CRC, University of Rhode Island

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Contents

1. Planning for Newport Harbor

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2. Sea Level Rise 101

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3. Rhode Island & Newport

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4. The Harbor & Sea Level Rise

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5. Newport Harbor in 2050

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6. Strategies & Implementations

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7. Steering Towards a Resilient Harbor

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8. References

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Chapter 1.

Planning for Newport Harbor

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Executive Summary Newport is predominantly surrounded by water, and the city’s iden ty has been shaped by its connec on to the sea. As one of three municipali es on Aquidneck Island, Newport is directly connected to the mainland across Narraganse Bay by one bridge and several year-round ferries. Serving as one of the major ports during the Colonial Era, infamous for being a prosperous trading city, Newport later became a place for wealthy Southerners to enjoy cool summers by the sea. Furthermore, Newport has housed a major Navy port for the US military, which is now slowly moving away from the area in order to consolidate in exis ng hubs in Virginia. Now, the city a racts more than 3.5 million visitors each year to enjoy the cool sea breeze, Gilded Age mansions, fresh food, and music fes vals1. Historical buildings, a seaside se ng, and notable cultural events contribute to Newport’s iden ty as a quintessen al New England coastal city; however, the city’s current existence is threatened by sea level rise as well as the increased frequency and power of storm events.

Rhode Island is at the forefront of adapta on to sea level rise and storm event planning. Newport addresses issues associated with storm events in their Natural Hazard Mi ga on Plan, which was updated in 2016 and approved

by FEMA in 2017. The 2017 Comprehensive Land Use Plan, which was adopted by the City of Newport, starts to acknowledge the threat of sea level rise but does not list implementable strategies to manage the city’s exposure to con nuously rising seas.

Exposure to sea level rise is greatest at Newport’s harbor due to its low-lying topography. Moreover, the harbor is one of the city’s main economic hubs, where tourists and residents spend most of their me. Sea level rise (SLR) projec ons are difficult to assess due to the everchanging state of the oceans. The latest 2017 NOAA projec ons es mate that 2-feet SLR will materialize around 2030, 3-feet SLR by 2040, and 5-feet SLR by 2050.

Newport Harbor, which will be exacerbated by 2-, 3-, and 5-foot sea level rise. The plan aims to couple harbor enhancements with ways in which the area can embrace the rising seas—promp ng Newport’s evolu on into a resilient city that accommodates sea level rise. As is men oned, the City of Newport already has a Hazard Mitigation Plan that addresses large storm events, including storm surge. While storm surge has notable ramifica ons, this plan focuses on sea level rise; the projected high des that will be experienced twice a day, every day, are within the current storm surge envelopes.

Based on exis ng land uses, poten al for reinvestment, historic proper es, and sea level rise, a suscep bility map showing the likelihood of change evaluates the proper es that are likely to be either redeveloped or vacated. This suscep bility map informed most of the strategies pertaining to the changing coastline. The plan explored four primary strategies. The first strategy includes several steps to provide a planned reloca on for property owners whose homes are most vulnerable to sea level rise. The second strategy embraces sea level rise in innova ve ways that allow for poten al economic and employment growth through welcoming water into the current economic hub with a floa ng district, shi ing the tourism economy further inland, and developing a water-based economy along the harbor front. The third strategy proposes to transform the exis ng man-made waterfront into resilient, publicly accessible space. The fourth set of recommenda ons will raise stakeholder awareness regarding the imminent threats of sea level rise. Collectively, the strategies provide a path for Newport’s resiliency and stability.

Reimagine Newport Harbor 2050 is an incremental adaptation plan that presents sea level rise as an opportunity to address the primary exis ng issues in

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Chapter 2.

Sea Level Rise 101

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Introduction It is important to understand the breadth of sea level rise exposure. Being a coastal state, Rhode Island’s shoreline is especially vulnerable to the risks associated with sea level rise. The 2017 Comprehensive Land Use adopted by the City of Newport starts to list out sea level rise threats but does not list implementable strategies to deal with exposure to con nuous sea level rise.

sea level has been rising con nuously. Notably, over the last 25 years, the sea level has risen by 3 inches, and it rises by an addi onal 0.13 inches every year.

Natural Flood Risks King Tide: are the highest des and are the result of the gravita onal pull of the moon and the sun. King de is also known as the higher high de, which o en intensifies the impact of sea level rise.

High Tide Flooding: is also known as nuisance flooding.

It o en happens in low-lying coastal areas.

Sea Level Rise Climate change has been described as long-term altera ons of temperature and weather pa erns in a place2. In recent history, earth has been experiencing global warming caused by increased greenhouse gas emissions. Human ac vi es are es mated to have caused approximately 34.7°F of global warming above preindustrial levels.

Sea level rise is a direct effect of climate change.

The change in sea level is primarily linked to thermal expansion, mel ng glaciers, and a loss of Greenland and Antarc ca’s ice sheets; these factors result in the water expanding and ul mately causing the sea level to rise.

Beginning in the early 20th century, the average global

Storm Surge: is a ributed to abnormally high water levels that are generated by severe storms, such as hurricanes and cyclones. The strong winds over the ocean combine with low pressure to drive water onshore3.

Storm surge, high des, and frequent flooding will magnify the risks of local sea level rise along the coastal areas.

Storm surge can produce sea levels much higher than normal high de, resul ng in extreme coastal and inland flooding. Sea level sets the baseline for storm surge, so as sea level rises, as does the baseline; this allows coastal storm surge to reach areas that are further inland. As is shown in Image 3, sea levels will con nue to rise beyond 2050 and 2100; eventually, areas that are further inland will be flooded. The effects of sea level rise will have profound impacts on the func on and development of coastal ci es4.

Figure 2. Homes affected a er Superstorm Sandy in South Kingstown, RI. Source: Michael Cevoli, Rhode Island Monthly

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Figure 3. Effects of storm surge and high des. Source: Union of Concerned Scien sts

Threat to Coastal Cities Sea level rise will forever alter the built environment of coastal ci es. Despite the tremendous exposure to the risks of sea level rise, the coastal popula on in the US has con nued to increase. Specifically, from 1970 to 2010, the popula on of coastal coun es increased by 34.8 million people; these coun es hold approximately 40% of the na on’s total popula on. The eastern coastal popula on in the US is at par cularly high risk due to the density of many east coast ci es. If the sea level con nues to rise at its currently accelerated rate, many coastal residents in Newport should expect to relocate when sea level rise reaches 7 feet5.

in coastal areas. Specifically, from 1970 to 2010, the popula on of coastal coun es increased by 34.8 million people. The eastern coastal popula on in the US is at par cularly high risk due to the density of many east coast ci es, including Newport.

If the sea level con nues to rise at its currently accelerated rate, many coastal residents in Newport located in the low lying areas should expect to relocate when sea level rise reaches 7 feet. Aware of these poten al issues, residents have posted “Leave Town” along a de measuring pole at one of the harbor marinas.

Storm surge, high des and frequent flooding amplify the local risks of sea level rise along coastal areas. Storm surge can produce sea levels much higher than normal high de, resul ng in extreme coastal and inland flooding.

With sea level rise, high des will inundate coastal land twice a day, every day. With the everlas ng presence of sea level rise, water will con nue to reach further inland on a regular basis.

Despite the tremendous exposure to the risks of sea level rise, the coastal popula on in the US has con nued to increase; today almost 40% of the popula on lives

Figure 4. A de gauge in Newport

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Chapter 3.

Rhode Island and Newport

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Rhode Island

Addressing Sea Level Rise

State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, known as the Ocean State, is the smallest State in the US, with over 400 miles of coastline and a popula on of just over one million people; though, Rhode Island sees about 25 million visitors each year6. Many Rhode Island residents live along Narraganse Bay. Addi onally, many proper es, businesses, and industries are se led along the state’s coastal areas. However, sea level rise currently threatens some of Rhode Islands most populated districts as well as key economic centers. Due to the ongoing eects of sea level rise, Rhode Island has been proac vely planning for ways in which they can adapt to the implica ons of rising seas.

Rhode Island is at the forefront of environmental resiliency planning. Rhode Island enacted its first comprehensive State Land Use plan in 1988 and has since been producing the planning framework necessary to ensure the state’s resiliency when confronted with environmental hazards.

In 2010, Rhode Island was the first state in the United States to implement an Ocean Special Area Management Plan, which involves the management and regula on of development along the coastline. The state has demonstrated its commitment to the ac ons outlined in the Ocean Special Area Management Plan, such as enforcing a five-step risk assessment process for proposed developments.

Figure 5. Newport, Rhode Island. Source: visi heusa.com

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2016

2017

In collabora on with NOAA, ESRI, and the University of Rhode Island, the state’s premier research university on coastal resiliency, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) created the STORMTOOLS method and the MyCoast website to serve as func onal and educa onal tools, which source and document the most recent effects of sea level rise; the resul ng data is used to advance policies related to sea level rise and coastal management. MyCoast serves as an effec ve pla orm for community engagement. All plans associated with coastal land should follow the guidance, rules, and

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regula ons outlined by CRMC. CRMC is a management agency with regulatory func ons to preserve, protect, develop, and restore coastal resources for all of Rhode Island. STORMTOOLS is one of the key resources that CRMC is using for regula on. More recently, in 2018, the state produced Resilient Rhody, which is Rhode Island’s first comprehensive climate preparedness plan that focuses on climate resiliency and protec on from severe weather events. As sea level rise con nues to progress, Rhode Island remains commi ed to maximizing its resiliency.

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Newport Despite having a rela vely low density, Newport is the wealthiest county and city in the state. Newport is home to the US Naval College and serves as a tourism hub, a rac ng both domes c and foreign travelers due to its alluring coastal iden ty. Newport is home to approximately 25,000 residents but hosts more than 3 million tourists, 90 percent of which stay overnight, mostly in accommoda ons located within the harbor.

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Newport is located on the southern side of Aquidneck Island and is surrounded by water on all sides except at its northern border with Middletown. Newport’s history is longer than that of the US. It was founded in the 17th century and was a prominent port for commerce and trade. Newport became a New England hub for ship building and mari me industries along with serving as a summer enclave for wealthy Southern families, whose mansions now operate as cultural anchors for the city.

The US Navy has long had a presence in Newport, with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center and the Naval War College located at the northern edge of the city. More

than 75,000 troops were sta oned in Newport at the height of Naval ac vity post World War II. Though, that number has significantly decreased since the 1970s, presumably due to the US Navy reloca ng its fleet to the South. The fleet reloca on took Newport’s largest job base, which forced the city to reevaluate its income and job sources, steering the economy towards tourism. Since the gradual loss of the US Navy, Newport has fostered a mul million-dollar tourism industry that capitalizes on the historic, industrial, and naval heritage of the city.

Newport can look to its past strategies of adapta on to conquer its latest challenge, sea level rise; intui ve approaches will allow Newport to grow its wealth and ensure the city is an a rac ve des na on for residents, visitors, and workers.

Figure 8. Plan of Newport, 1777. Source: newporthistory.org

Generally, Newport has been actively engaged in resiliency planning; the Comprehensive Land Use Plan was launched in 2017, which touches upon central issues pertaining to demographic shi s, the economy’s dependency on tourism, protec on of public space, and the hazards associated with sea level rise.

Figure 9. The Breakers in Newport. Source: Pinterest

Figure 7. Old Bijou theater on Thames street. Source: Newport Discovery Guide

Figure 10. Long Warf in Newport Harbor. Source: Newport Discovery Guide

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Demographics

Employment

Over the past few decades, Newport’s popula on has been rela vely stable at around 25,000 residents. In comparison to the state, Newport’s residents are slightly younger. The median age in Newport is 36; the largest age group is 20-34-year-olds, encompassing nearly 30% of the total popula on7. In the coming decades, this large age group will likely become a significant por on of Newport’s older popula on. Nevertheless, earlier this year, Newport was iden fied as an ‘Age Friendly’ community by AARP Network of Age Friendly States and Communi es8. This grants the city leaders access to global resources that can help con nue to make Newport an accessible place for people of all ages; the ini a ves include embracing walkable streets, providing sound housing and transporta on op ons, and increasing opportuni es for residents to par cipate in community ac vi es.

There are 10,380 civilian employees in the City of Newport, of which 73% live outside city limits and 27% live within Newport9. The major industries in Newport, in terms of number of employees, are Accommoda on and Food Services (29%), Health Care and Social Assistance (13%), Educa onal Services (12%), and Retail Trade (10%).

Accommoda on and Food Services and Retail Trade contribute to a substan al propor on of the commercial ac vity that occurs in the harbor.

24,957 - Residents

By comparing the direct employment impact from the tourism industry, Newport (7,298 employees in 2018)11 takes up 19.5% of the tourism industry in Rhode Island (37,403 employees in 2017)12. Meanwhile, the land area of Newport (7.9 square miles) is only 0.7% of Rhode Island’s land area (1,212 square miles).

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The Navy has a strong presence in the city. It employs approximately 9,000 military and civilian personnel at the Naval base. The Navy’s presence in Newport is dominated by its educa on, training, and research programs. Among the largest ins tu ons involved with research programs is the Naval Underwater Warfare Center (NUWC), which has been designated by the Defense Department as the site for a “superlab” for conduc ng undersea warfare research10.

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Figure 13. Newport popula on since 1990. Source: US Census data

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Figure 11. Thames Street in Newport Harbor. Source:

While the Naval base employs a large number of people, the geographic distribu on of other civilian (private) employment in the city shows that the harbor is the hub of private employment; 34% of all jobs in Newport are located in the harbor, many of which are related to the tourism sector.

Geographic distribu on of private employment

Employments at the Harbor

Employments Elsewhere in Newport City

34% of all jobs in Newport are in the Harbor

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Figure 14. Geographic distribu on of employment in Newport.

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As per Newportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2017 Comprehensive Land Use Plan, the city is broadly divided into 3 major partsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Newportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s north end, the central corridor, and Newport neck. The north end and central corridor are heavily dominated by residen al land use, which covers 54% of all land use in the city. Newport neck, the southwestern part of the city, has ample open space and recrea on areas, which include Brenton State park, Fort Adams State park, and other local parks. Commercial uses account for 7% of the total land use in the city, with a large por on of these uses located in the harbor as waterfront businesses.

Land Use Newport covers a total land area of 11.5 square milesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;8 square miles of land and 3.5 square miles of inland water.

The city has a total of 10,123 parcels of real estate, of which nearly 26% are tax-exempt. The tax-exempt parcels include the Naval base and other ins tu ons (churches, schools, libraries, and cemeteries) that are owned by the city, state, or federal government.

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Built Environment Development pa erns in Newport were established before the incep on of zoning regula ons. The city’s core, which include the harbor and its immediate surroundings, is a compact district with dense neighborhoods and narrow streets. This central core holds many of the city’s oldest buildings, some of which are on the Na onal Register. Several of these buildings have rather small footprints and dis nct architectural styles.

Regarding new development, there are two new projects currently under construc on in the harbor (bo om le images on next page) and an addi onal project in the pipeline. The new developments consist of large hotels, which break away from the character of the harbor and surrounding areas. City residents have ac vely voiced their disapproval of these new projects by pu ng up signs that read “no new hotels” along various storefronts in harbor. Additionally, citizen groups against new hotel development in the harbor achieved a 6-month moratorium (bo om right image) on all projects in the area—zoning regula ons will be updated to address large development projects.

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Figure 21. Images of the public realm in and around Newport Harbor.

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Newport Housing Newport’s residential environment is primarily characterized by single-family homes. Nearly 40% of the city’s housing stock is in the form of single-family structures. Also, with over half of all homes (54%) having been built before 1939, the age of the residences contributes to the charm of the city; this is especially seen at the harbor, where over 66% of the homes were built before 1939 and less than 5% have been built within last 20 years. Yet, the harbor is Newport’s core mixed-use environment, holding 20% of the city’s housing inventory, filled with single-family homes and small mul family buildings. The unique quali es of Newport’s housing stock are reflected in its market characteris cs.

Newport is a renter-dominated city. Both the harbor and the city have 60% of the homes being renter occupied.

However, at 30%, Newport Harbor’s vacancy rate is nearly double the city average. Logically, rents in Newport Harbor are lower than in other parts of the city, with the average rental rate for the harbor being $1,098 per month. Yet, the harbor’s median home value of $463,550 is higher than the city’s $405,700 median home value.

Newport harbor seems to appeal to a rela vely unique demographic that does not align with the status quo for the city. Specifically, the average household size in the harbor is 1.7 persons, which is the smallest in the city; addi onally, the harbor has the highest percentage (67%) of non-married residents and a median age that

Figure 22. Liladelman.com

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is nearly 10 years older than that of the city. It is also worth no ng that the percentage of homes that only serve seasonal use within Newport and the harbor is 12% and 75%, respec vely. The threat of sea level rise puts a key component of Newport’s residen al inventory at risk. The residen al proper es lost to SLR table reveals the es mated percentage and total loss of housing units at different levels of sea level rise for both Newport and the harbor.

Sea level rise and the looming exposure to flood risks are influencing the housing market and having las ng impacts on property values. Currently, the impact of sea level rise on home values has been in the form of lost or stagnant apprecia on. Data scien sts from First Street Founda on and Columbia University have collected data on housing markets for coastal proper es and found that increased dal flooding caused by sea level rise has eroded $44.7 million in rela ve home values in Rhode Island between 2005 and 2017; Newport saw over $2.8 million in lost apprecia on during that me13. While most of the affected homes in the study did appreciate over the measured period, they did so at a significantly lower rate than comparable homes unaffected by dal flooding. Stagnant property values and the eventual loss of several homes will have dras c consequences for homeowners and the city. With 5-feet sea level rise, it is es mated that Newport will lose over $314 million worth of residen al real estate and over $3.1 million dollars in annual property tax revenue. It is crucial that Newport acknowledge the forthcoming property loses from a financial, func onal, and equitable perspec ve.

Figure 23. Authors

Topography Newport’s topographic map indicates that there are three major hills in the city. The en re western edge, including the harbor, and parts of southwestern Newport are the lowest-lying regions. East of the harbor, the topography rises. A topographic map is instrumental for approxima ng the areas of the city that will be most immediately inundated due to sea level rise.

Figure 24. A view from Spring Street looking west toward the harbor.

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One of the central issues underlying the existing protec ve infrastructure is that the sea wall is crumbling in several sec ons. High de and storm events can cause water to spill over the sea walls, and while there are select spouts that allow the water to drain from the sea wall, these spouts are not present in all areas, causing water to become trapped behind the wall, which causes the wall to erode. Evidence of seawater infiltra on beyond the sea wall is revealed by the vegeta on in King Park that has not been able to adapt to the saltwater intrusion.

There have been mul ple cases to prove that Newport’s present sewer infrastructure needs to be reinforced in order to handle the severe storms and high de events that accompany sea level rise. According to MyCoast, a crowd-sourcing website documen ng storm and king de events in Rhode Island, sewers have been prone to backing up and contribu ng to poor water quality during those events. The failure of the drainage system a er weather events brings poten al public health threats as well as physical threats to property.

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As a coastal city, flood defense systems have been installed throughout Newport. For example, there is a significant stretch of sea wall at the southern part of Newport’s harbor, along King Park. This sea wall plays a vital role in protec ng the city from major de events. At the building scale, lower lying buildings in the harbor area, such as the former armory, now the Mari me Center, have installed simple yet effec ve infrastructure, such as flood gates, to keep water from entering the building during storm events.

as well as Middletown and por ons of Portsmouth.

Currently, Newport has a combined sewer system, and efforts are ongoing to separate catch basins from the sanitary system. During a 50-year storm, Goat island, Long Wharf, and Wellington pump sta ons as well as the Washington CSO facility will be completely inundated.

JT

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Figure 26. The former Armory with de gates.

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Re-imagining Newport Harbor 2050

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Overall, there is 85 miles of sewer line that services the whole city. Newport’s wastewater treatment facility, which is in the northern end, treats an average of 8.4 million gallons of wastewater per day; it serves approximately 41,600 customers throughout Newport

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Figure 27. Sewer Infrastructure in Newport. Source: RIGIS

Figure 28. The sea wall along King Park.

Figure 29. Por ons of the crumbling sea wall.

Figure 30. Reported flooding loca ons. Source: MyCoast

Figure 31. Images showing various loca ons of flooding events due to overflowing sewers. Source: MyCoast

Re-imagining Newport Harbor 2050

29

reservoir to the east. Under the 2-, 3-, and 5-feet sea level rise scenarios, water will come in twice a day damaging low-lying proper es that are not currently protected.

Latest models from NOAA show that these diďŹ&#x20AC;erent scenarios would happen roughly around 2030, 2040, and 2050, respec vely, revealing a strong accelera on in the amount of land exposed to sea level rise. Of all areas exposed to sea level rise, the harbor will see the most devasta on due to the high concentra on of housing, businesses, and historical structures.

Newport & Sea Level Rise Newport has a dis nct topography with three main hills and select low-lying areas, as noted in the topography map earlier. As is shown on the map below, exposure to sea level rise is prominent along the Coasters Harbor Island to the north, Newport Harbor, south of the island, and along the dike that separates Easton Bay from the

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Chapter 4.

The Harbor & Sea Level Rise

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Newport Harbor As previously depicted in the exposure to Sea Level Rise, Newport Harbor, Coasters Island and the Reservoir along Easton Bay have the highest exposure to Sea Level Rise.

Due to its exis ng mixed-use character, most people enjoy spending me in Harbor Area, spending me in restaurants, shops, condos, hotels, and single family

homes. In addi on to being the economic hub, and the densest area in Newport, the Harbor would loose most of its exis ng built environment if the City is not proac ve about implemen ng adapta on projects.

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Envisioning Sea Level Rise in Newport Harbor Bowen’s Wharf is an iconic man-made wharf known for its premiere shopping and dining experience. It also will be one of the first wharves to face direct exposure to sea level rise, star ng at 2-feet, and is likely to disappear as water will soon inundate the area twice a day during

high des. The images show the extent of exposure at 2-, 3-, and 5-feet of sea level rise. The effects of sea level rise on Bowen’s Wharf will extend beyond the harbor as the city could lose a key piece of its downtown iden ty.

The specific challenges associated with the harbor will be addressed further in the following sec ons.

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Figure 34. Sea level rise scenarios in Newport Harbor. Source: RIGIS

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Base Sea Level Rise (in ft)

2 High Tide Today Low Tide

Base Sea Level Rise (in ft) 3 2 High Tide Today Low Tide

Base Sea Level Rise (in ft) 5 3 2 High Tide Today Low Tide Figure 35. Bowenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Warf under 2-,3-,5- sea level rise scenarios.

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Re-imagining Newport Harbor 2050

Newport Housing Newport Harbor is a central component of the city’s classic New England character. The harbor contains a rela vely strong concentra on of Colonial architecture, which is primarily in the form of single-family homes or small mul family structures. Newport Harbor is the founda on of the city’s iden ty and contains the primary mixed-use living environment for residents. The implica ons of sea level rise on Newport Harbor will have las ng effects on the city’s housing supply and will alter the integrity of the built environment.

Figure 36. A two story home.

Neighborhood Character Newport’s neighborhoods have dis nct character. With pitched roofs, dormers and wood cladding, the Colonial architecture of Newport’s housing stock is reflec ve of the historical and charming city. 2-story, single-family homes are the most popular form of housing. A majority of the houses are over 80 years old, which contributes to the character of the built environment. The materiality of the homes largely consists of wood cladding, shingles or brick. There are few setbacks, with most of the homes hugging the street. Throughout the harbor, there are some variances between the houses. Specifically, the Point Neighborhood to the north, has more historical homes on rela vely compact lots. The homes at the south of the harbor, along Wellington Avenue, are sited on larger parcels, have lighter wood cladding, and there is a no ceable presence of front porches. In addi on to the single-family housing, there are mul family buildings and condominiums within the harbor. The condominium buildings mimic the style of the tradi onal houses with the use of shingles, dormers and wood cladding. However, the larger condominium buildings are newer and are elevated according to FEMA standards. Most of the single-family homes and small mul family buildings are not elevated and have basements. By 5-feet sea level rise, many of the homes in the Point Neighborhood and those south of Wellington Avenue will be inundated, affec ng the character of the community.

Figure 37. A condominium in the harbor.

Figure 38. A home in the Point neighborhood.

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Harbor Housing Homes in Newport Harbor are a central component of the city’s housing stock, and as sea level rise con nues, the loss of housing in the harbor will impact the en re city. At 5-feet sea level rise, over 75% of the homes that Newport is expected to lose are in the harbor14.

As was men oned previously, homes exposed to flood

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risk are seeing stagnant property values; this trend is seen at the harbor, where 24% of the housing units are exposed. While homes in Newport harbor have historically commanded higher prices, that premium is star ng to diminish.

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Harrison Ave Figure 39. Residen al property in the harbor. Source: RIGIS

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The corresponding example below highlights two comparable homes in slightly different locations, which have experienced dras cally different levels of apprecia on. Only one of the homes is exposed to flood risk, and this home experienced substan ally lower apprecia on. It is also worth no ng that as homes are eventually lost to sea level rise, the cost of living in areas that are not exposed to flood risk will increase exponen ally.

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7 Millburn Road - 181 days on market

29 Merton Road - 170 days on market

Sold: $610,000 on 4/26/2019

Sold: $644,500 on 5/7/2019

Avg Appreciaঞon of 9.4% per year since last sale in 2012

Avg Appreciaঞon of 24% per year since last sale in 2010 Re-imagining Newport Harbor 2050

39

On average, Newport Harbor homes are currently taking 114 days to sell, which is double the city’s average. Over the past two years, Newport Harbor homes have sold for average of $382 per square foot, and the city’s average is $313 per square foot15. Higher-priced homes o en mes take longer to sell; however, the recorded premium for harbor homes is rela vely modest and does not jus fy the homes taking twice as long to sell compared to the city. The average length of me it takes to sell a home coupled with the high rental vacancy rate of 60% may indicate certain shortcomings with the harbor’s housing stock as well as general market percep ons pertaining to homes exposed to flood risk and sea level rise. The implica ons of sea level rise and flooding are permanently altering the harbor’s housing market and the city’s overall housing stock. As a result, a major component of the city’s core revenue stream is at risk.

At 5-feet sea level rise, a majority of Newport’s lost residen al property tax revenue is a ributed to the loss of homes at the harbor. Specifically, Newport Harbor is expected to lose over $277 million worth of homes, which equates to over $2.7 million dollars in lost property taxes.

The loss of property taxes at the harbor contributes to 88% of the es mated total loss in residen al property taxes for Newport at 5-feet sea level rise. The extent in which Newport Harbor’s housing is exposed to the risks of sea level rise has profound implica ons on the residen al landscape of Newport and the city’s overall stability.

Newport

Newport Harbor

Value of Lost Properঞes

$314,133,510 worth of homes

$277,351,236 worth of homes

Loss of Tax Revenue

$3,138,194 in property taxes

$2,770,739 in property taxes

Figure 41. Lost property value from 5-feet sea level rise. Source: Calcula ons based on US Census data and RIGIS data

Figure 40. Images showing housing in the harbor

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Re-imagining Newport Harbor 2050

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Figure 42. Exposed residen al proper es in the harbor.

2-feet SLR: 34 housing units (3%) 3-feet SLR: 126 housing units (11%) 5-feet SLR: 280 housing units (24%)

Figure 43. A mul family housing property in the harbor.

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Economic Activity In terms of land use and employment, the harbor is dominated by tourism. Over 47% of all people working in the harbor are employed in tourism-dependent industries. The tourism-dependent industries include Accommoda on and Food Services, Retail Trade, and Arts, Entertainment and Recrea on industries. Over 70% of the land in the harbor is occupied by a tourismrelated industry. There are over 20 hotels, 80 retail establishments, and more than 40 restaurants/bars along Thames Street. Addi onally, 7 out of Newportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top 10 property taxpayers are harbor hotels.

proper es exposed at 3-feet, and 25 proper es (30% of the harborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total retail por olio) exposed at 5-feet sea level rise. Regarding restaurants and bars, 4 proper es are exposed at 2-feet, 10 proper es are exposed at 3-feet, and 16 proper es are exposed at 5-feet sea level rise. The nature of Newportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy intensifies the ramifica ons associated with losing harbor proper es.

47% of all employment in the harbor is tourism related Sea level rise will put stress on the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic structure, which relies heavily on tourismâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;many of the hotels, a rac ons, and tourism-related industries are exposed to sea level rise. For hotels, inns and resorts, 2-feet sea level rise is not a grave concern. However, by 3-feet sea level rise, 7 proper es, or 30% of all hotels in the harbor, are exposed to the high de that will occur twice a day. By 5-feet sea level rise, 11 proper es, or half of all hotels in the harbor, will be inundated by water twice a day. Retail establishments see a similar sea level rise exposure profile: 0 proper es exposed at 2-feet, 9

Figure 44. A view of Bannisters Warf.

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Figure 45. Employment in Newport by industry.

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Re-imagining Newport Harbor 2050

Figure 46. Tourists at Bannisters Warf.

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Figure 47. Exposed hotels, inns and resorts in the harbor.

20+ Hotels/Inns/Resorts 2-feet SLR: 0 3-feet SLR: 7 buildings (30%) 5-feet SLR: 11 buildings (50%)

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Figure 48. Exposed retail in the harbor.

80+ Retail stores 2-feet SLR: 0 3-feet SLR: 9 buildings (10%) 5-feet SLR: 25 buildings (30%)

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Figure 49. Exposed restaurants and bars and inns in the harbor.

40+ Restaurants/Bars 2-feet SLR: 4 buildings (10%) 3-feet SLR: 10 buildings (25%) 5-feet SLR: 16 buildings (40%)

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Figure 50. Public parks in Newport Harbor.

Open Space There are six main public parks within Newport Harbor. All six parks are owned by the city and serve as anchors for the community. In addi on to the public parks, there are privately-owned public spaces, such as Bowen’s Wharf and Long Wharf Mall, either along or near the waterfront. At 5-feet sea level rise, four out of the six primary parks will be inundated with high de twice a day—limi ng public access to the waterfront and reducing the amount of usable open space. Furthermore, Bowen’s Wharf and Ann’s Street Pier, both

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Re-imagining Newport Harbor 2050

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Figure 51. Public parks in Newport Harbor with sea level rise scenarios. Source: RIGIS

of which are lively public spaces, will be exposed to the effects of sea level rise. Ul mately, by 5-feet sea level rise, most of the Harbor’s iconic public spaces will be impacted.

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Figure 52. The Harbor walk under sea level rise scenarios.

Harbor Walk The Harbor Walk is an addi onal public asset along Newport’s waterfront, though much of the trail is privately owned. Designated by the Friends of the Waterfront, the Harbor Walk is a walking route that runs along the harbor.

However, despite having a formal name and signage, the route is quite fragmented and may prompt one to ques on the reality of the Harbor Walk’s existence.

Most of the Harbor Walk is comprised of parking lots

or alleys, which does not offer the most pleasurable walking experience. Beyond the signage being faded, it is rela vely obscure and sca ered. Furthermore, the route is not well known to visitors or the community. Aside from a few stretches, such as at Bowen’s Wharf and Perro Park, most of the trail is not easily accessible. With that being said, the Harbor Walk is also exposed to the risk of sea level rise, and most of the walk will be inundated twice a day by high de at 5-feet sea level rise. Although the current Harbor Walk has limited sec ons with strong public access, all will be inaccessible due to sea level rise.

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Infrastructure & Public Access to the Water Newport Harbor, as the heart of the city, has several vital pieces of infrastructure. As sea level rises, the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s challenges extend beyond the loss of property and land; there will be weaker defense systems, exposed u li es, lost facili es, and decreased accessibility. The harbor is lined with seawalls and contains major pumping sta ons, streets, and u li es that serve the en re city.

However, signs of aging infrastructure indicate the need for reinforcement.

Newport is currently confronted with eroding flood barriers, which is an issue that will be amplified as sea level rise and flooding become a daily occurrence. The harbor also contains the highest percentage of impervious surface coverage in Newport, with a total of 256 acres.

The harborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proximity to the sea intensifies the impact that stormwater runoďŹ&#x20AC; can have on water quality. A majority of the parking lots in the harbor are covered with impervious surface, making the sites extremely vulnerable to flooding. Over 12 miles of sewer line and 9.4 miles of streets will be exposed at 5-feet sea level rise. Also, the two pumping sta ons that are in the harbor will both be inundated from 5-feet sea level rise. Along with u li es and parking, the Harbor provides public access to the waterfront that will be impacted by the daily inunda on associated with 5-feet sea level rise.

Figure 53. Areal view of the harbor. Source: marinas.com

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Re-imagining Newport Harbor 2050

Parking Lots In total, there are 40 parking lots within the harbor, all of which are privately owned. 33 of the parking lots are open to the public; combined with available street parking, the harbor holds over 2,000 public parking spots. The remaining private parking lots are reserved for residents and provide around 800 spots. As sea level

rises, the number of exposed parking spaces will increase sharply; only 0.8% of the spots are exposed under 2-feet sea level rise, but nearly 45% of the spots are exposed under 5-feet sea level rise.

Newport’s seasonal, tourism-based economy leaves much of the parking underu lized for a large part of the year. As discussed before, most of the parking lots are covered by impervious surfaces, leaving the seasonally underu lized sites ill-equipped to handle flood events.

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Figure 54. Parking lots in the harbor. Source: Google maps, cityofnewport.com

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Community Engagement Newport residents who live in and around the harbor have exhibited a strong vocal presence. Ci zen and neighborhood groups have come together to demand more inclusion at the local government level. Through studying Newport and the harbor, it was discovered that residents have come together on mul ple occasions to voice their opinions on ma ers of concern. For example, some community members have strongly opposed the development of new hotels in the harbor; as a result, they walked the streets and protested at city hall, demanding and then achieving the implementa on of a 6-month moratorium to stop all major project approvals un l the city’s codes and development framework are updated to reflect the desire to preserve the “Quintessen al New England Town”16. While this demonstrates the power that residents and ci zen groups have in making their voices heard, the vulnerabili es and impacts of sea level rise do not seem to be priori zed as concerns. With Newport harbor being highly exposed to sea level rise, it is impera ve that the community be involved in planning for the inevitable rise in sea level.

Figure 55. Residents protes ng new development. Source:newportri.com

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Re-imagining Newport Harbor 2050

Figure 56. ‘no new hotels’ protest in Newport. Source: newpor hisweek.com

Step 3. Combine the score from steps 1 and 2. While vacant buildings will always be ‘4’ and tradi onal mari me will always be ‘0’, the rest of the scores will be added together.

Susceptibility Map To evaluate the likelihood of change of land parcels based on the vulnerability to sea level rise and the redevelopment poten al of different neighborhoods in the harbor, data was collected on mul ple aspects and then aggregated at the parcel level to calculate a suscep bility score for each parcel. The following steps along with the diagram on the next page walk you through the steps in this procedure: Step 1. Calculate the score of vulnerability to sea level rise for each building, with ‘3’ represen ng the proper es within 2-feet sea level rise, ‘2’ represen ng the proper es within 3-feet sea level rise, and ‘1’ represen ng the proper es within 5-feet sea level rise.

Step 2. Calculate the score of likelihood to change according to building type. ‘1’ represents buildings that are historical sites, new buildings (built a er 2000), condominiums, and tradi onal mari me. ‘2’ represents buildings constructed before 2000, non-historical sites.

‘3’ represents vacant buildings.

BUILDINGS: TYPE Condos NH buildings New buildings

2

> 20 yr Not NH listed

SUM UP THE SCORE

1 2 3 3ft. SLR

Step 5. Spa al join the buildings and parking lots into parcels, and each parcel will capture the sum of the scores for all buildings and parking lots that fall into it.

Step 6. The process involves doing a natural break on the score of parcels and reclassifying the parcels into three groups. Then, manually modify based on a realis c situa on, and the result is the final suscep bility score.

According to the suscep bility map, which can be studied on the next page, 32 parcels in the harbor are Very Likely to change, 203 parcels are Medium Likely to change, and 300 parcels are Least Likely to change. There are no foreseeable changes associated with the remaining harbor parcels, hence they do not fall into either of these categories.

RECLASSIFY THE VA VVALUE LUE INTO THREE BREAKS

ADD UP THE VA VVALUE LUE IN EACH P PA RCEL PARCEL

RESET VVA LUE OF VALUE SPECIAL TYPES

BUILDINGS

BUILDINGS: SLR 5ft. SLR

Step 4. Calculate the score of vulnerability to sea level rise for each parking lot, the methodology of which is the same as step 1.

2ft. SLR

PARCELS

BUILDINGS: USE

0

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4

Vacant Building

PARKING LOTS: SLR

1 2 3

5ft. SLR

3ft. SLR

2ft. SLR

FINAL SCORE

1-2 3 - 10 11 - 92 Least Likely to Change

Medium Likely to Change Very Likely to Change

Figure 57. Steps leading to the suscep bility map.

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Figure 58. Suscep bility of parcels to change based on exis ng uses, vacancies, building type, and sea level rise scenarios.

Least Likely to Change: 300 parcels Medium Likely to Change: 203 parcels Very Likely to Change: 32 parcels

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56

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Chapter 5.

Newport Harbor in 2050

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Re-imagining Newport Harbor 2050

Based on all the data that was collected and analyzed on Newport and the harbor, the team came up with a vision for Newport harbor. This helped in focusing on specific strategies that would help Newport harbor manage sea level rise through all the scenarios discussed.

Envisioning Newport Harbor in 2050:

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Newport continues to demonstrate its resiliency facing sea level rise by sustaining the Harbor and its quintessential New England lifestyle.

Incremental strategies connected to 2-, 3-, and 5-feet sea level rise scenarios facilitate a planned relocation and diversiďŹ cation of key assets, allowing Newport to remain a coveted destination for existing and future residents and businesses.â&#x20AC;?

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Chapter 6.

Strategies & Implementation

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Introduction Based on the analysis of Newport, the harbor and sea level rise, the team came up with four overarching strategies to address the cri cal needs and areas of opportunity in Newport. Each of the strategies is described briefly below, following which each of them will be explained in depth, including detailed recommenda ons and ac ons to be taken to achieve the desired results. The strategies that will assist Newport is managing sea level rise are as follows:

Planned Relocation Responding to seal level rise with strategic retreat will allow Newport to maintain a healthy property tax base while advancing the city’s housing stock. S mula ng and direc ng significant developments will lead to increased tax revenue; the revenue from property taxes and cityowned land sales, combined with funds from FEMA, HUD and the State, will help Newport fund a Redevelopment Authority, purchase subdivided parcels, and carry out the en rety of its reloca on program. The planned reloca on strategy outlines recommenda ons that are centered on growing Newport’s tax base and expanding the housing supply to be er accommodate a range of residents in different housing forms and environments.

Embracing SLR as Economic Development While planned reloca on is at the forefront of this plan, the harbor will not become a place of blight or disrepair as high des damage proper es and people move out. Newport has already shi ed the state of its economy several mes, and the exposure to sea level rise is an opportunity to con nue to strengthen and shi parts of the economy inland, while consolida ng and invi ng new types of development that would be resistant and adap ng to sea level rise. This overall 62

Re-imagining Newport Harbor 2050

strategy includes the crea on of the Weatherly District, a floa ng district that will make the harbor an example of innova ve adapta on to sea level rise in the Northeast. It will also promote cultural tourism further inland. Finally, the strategy will leverage the city’s exis ng assets to a ract and retain businesses and jobs for exis ng and future residents rela ng to an economy dependent on water and innova on, also called the “blue economy”.

Infrastructure and Access to Waterfront This strategy focuses on the incremental recommenda ons of 2 , 3 , 5 sea level rise regarding the physical waterfront to enhance waterfront access while limi ng impacts of sea level rise. The incremental installa on of an enhanced waterfront will provide new ameni es as well as be presenta ons of innova ve ways to deal with sea level rise.

Stakeholder Awareness and Education Research with public engagement professionals indicate that the delivery of sea level rise messages can have enormous impacts on people’s willingness to accept, par cipate, and act on it. Therefore, the need for effec ve and innova ve methods in stakeholder engagement in Newport will foster stakeholder engagement and awareness to par cipate in all the strategies as they relate to sea level rise, including but not limited to the reloca on process. The strategy includes establishing a public engagement commission that will support various awareness and engagement ac vi es, including consul ng with experts on sea level rise management prac ces. The overall strategy looks to help Newport grow as both a pioneer in the field of SLR management and the new hub to incubate more discussion and research about sea level rise management.

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Figure 59. Overall strategies for Newport Harbor

The diagram above presents the four main strategies and their related recommenda ons. Public engagement sits in the center of the Venn Diagram as each strategy would not hold on its own without a robust stakeholder awareness and educa on strategy. Furthermore, the recommenda ons in pink show how closely related each of the strategies are and how the recommenda ons lock into each other to create a coherent set of implementa ons towards Reimagining Newport Harbor by 2050, or 5-foot of sea level rise, whichever comes first.

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Figure 60. Newport Strategies Map

As water will con nue to come into the Harbor, the four sets of strategies also relate to the rest of the City, keeping character, opportuni es and needs in mind. This figure depicts how the implemented strategies will relate to each other throughout the island. By crea ng new places for adapta on and innova on, Newport will be at the forefront of resiliency eďŹ&#x20AC;orts and an example used throughout the Northeast on the diďŹ&#x20AC;erent strategies used to deal with sea level rise.

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Figure 61. Newport Harbor Strategies Map

As described throughout the plan, the Harbor will be most exposed to see level rise. While incremental, the proposed strategies all strive to welcome high des water into exis ng man-made wharves and areas that will be exposed the most. Marshlands will incrementally replace structures that will be flooded twice a day and stakeholders will be engaged, educated and assisted throughout the reloca on process. Furthermore, Newport will become a model city that innovated in ways to deal with treats of sea level rise: crea ng a new floa ng district (the Weatherly District), and making sure that the new economy in the harbor area is based on water uses and con nue to innovate in waterrelated sectors. In this way, Newport will embrace sea level rise as a welcome challenge.

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Strategy 1

Planned Relocation

Introduction With a 30% vacancy rate and 76% of the homes dedicated to seasonal use, the current housing supply in Newport Harbor is not adequately serving the local popula on. Furthermore, the city’s housing stock provides limited op ons for those who seek a lively urban environment. Any housing deficiency will be exacerbated as homes are lost to sea level rise; currently, loca ons that are exposed to flood risk are seeing stagnant property values, which will have damaging effects on homeowners and Newport’s property tax revenue.

Through s mula ng strategic mixed-use and residen al development, Newport will expand its mul family housing supply and provide a variety of residen al offerings that are suitable for a range of families and young professionals.

Acknowledging the unique func on of each development and providing resilient housing in desirable neighborhoods will allow the city to maintain a healthy property tax base. Ul mately, the recommenda ons associated with the planned retreat strategy involve direc ng and s mula ng new development, forming a Newport Redevelopment Authority, strictly regula ng future development on the harbor, and promo ng a FEMA buyout program along with a land exchange and subdivision program.

Vision “Through strategic acࢼons, Newport’s housing market will remain strong, and the city will conࢼnue to grow its tax base; this will allow Newport to provide assistance to the first homeowners exposed to sea level rise impacts while also advancing the city’s housing stock in a way that acknowledges present and future residents.”

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Figure S1-1. Newport Development Zones Map

The recommenda ons associated with strategic retreat are centered on direc ng and s mula ng new development; capitalizing on the tax gains from new, larger developments will help fund future crucial ac ons that correspond to the following recommenda ons:

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Target Area: Midtown Newport

Recommendation 1: Direct New Development

Midtown Newport Overlay Details

Now Action 1: Stimulate dense mixed-use development in target areas The first recommenda on, which will start as soon as possible, involves direc ng new development to targeted areas in Newport. The most effec ve way to foster development will be through crea ng opportuni es for as-of-right development in addi on to offering financial and regulatory incen ves, such as tax abatements, expedited approvals, permit fee reduc ons, or building height bonuses. It is important to note that new developments will contribute to the property tax base for the city and help fund further ini a ves, and thus the removal of the moratorium on large projects is crucial.

The map highlights loca ons that should see increased development. Specifically, the area, which this plan refers to as Midtown Newport, is an exis ng commercial district that would benefit from further development and increased density.

Zone 1: Central Mixed-Use • 55-foot height limit • For lots over 2,000 SqFt, minimum of 480 SqFt of lot area per dwelling unit • Commercial use permi ed on ground floor

Zone 2: Neighborhood Mixed-Use • Height based on the adjacent residen al zoning districts in order to match surroundings • For lots over 2,500 SqFt, minimum of 600 SqFt of lot area per dwelling unit • Limited commercial use

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Figure S1-2. Midtown Newport Mixed-Use District

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Currently, there is a 45-foot height restric on in place for General Business districts in Newport, and 1,500 square feet of lot area is required per dwelling unit for the construc on of mul family housing. Crea ng a specific mixed-use overlay district for Midtown Newport will involve up-zoning to a ract new investment and s mulate development ac vity from exis ng landowners.

Rezoning certain parcels to allow for greater density and uses will prompt landowners to capitalize on the newfound untapped poten al of a property. Zone 1 will be the central mixed-use environment and will have higher density allowances. With a mixed-use overlay, Zone 1 will allow mul family housing on lots greater than 2,000 square feet, and a minimum of 480 square feet of lot area per dwelling unit would increase the density of this district. Meanwhile, Zone 2 will serve as the

mediator between the central mixed-use environment and the surrounding residen al neighborhoods; therefore, buildings in Zone 2 would be of a smaller scale and contain fewer units. Commercial ac vity in Zone 2 will be limited in order to respect the exis ng residen al nature of the surrounding neighborhoods.

Figure S1-3. Successful Blending of DiďŹ&#x20AC;erent Building Types and Scales, 1300 King St Alexandria, VA. Source: Arch Daily

Figure S1-4. Zone 2 Building Type, Mixed-Use Property Greenwich Ave Greenwich, CT. Source: h ps://www.greenwich me.com/business/ar cle/ Greenwich-Avenue-mixed-use-project-nearing-6540955.php

The Midtown Newport recommenda on targets certain parcels surrounding the Newport Public Library flagged for development; priming this city-owned land for development could catalyze the emergence of the new mixed-use neighborhood. The vision behind Midtown Newport is to capture the harbor experience while providing a greater variety and density of housing.

Case Study: Regulatory and Tax Incentives: San Antonio, TX In 2012, San Antonio sought to activate its downtown, so the City Council put in place meritbased, as-of-right, incen ves for targeted areas.

Within 3 years, the city commi ed over $46 million in tax incen ves and s mulated over $510 million in development, which added nearly 4,000 housing units1.

Figure S1-5. San Antonio, TX. Source: h ps://www.2030districts.org/ sanantonio

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of mul family housing would expedite the expansion of Newportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s housing supply.

Action 2: Leverage existing Opportunity Zone

Strategically marke ng city-owned parcels along with the development rights will help foster development ac vity.

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Action 1: Document buildable cityowned land

Figure S1-7. 5-Acre city-owned parcel in Opportunity Zone that is zoned commercial-industrial; assuming proper tes ng and remedia on, this parcel could serve as the site of a garden apartment development

Recommendation 2: Create a Newport Redevelopment Authority

Buildable city-owned land that was not exposed to the risk of 5-foot sea level rise has been iden fied, including underu lized open space. In collabora on with the Redevelopment Authority, Newport could create a database of all buildable city-owned land, and the land could be marketed with per-approved plans or development rights.

Recommendation 3: Regulate New Development 2-Ft SLR

Now The property tax revenue generated from increased development projects can help fund a Redevelopment Authority. Currently, the city collaborates with the Newport Chamber of Commerce and Rhone Island Economic Development Founda on for the development of public land; however, acquiring land or working with private developers is more complex without a dedicated Agency. The proposed Redevelopment Authority will help streamline land acquisi on and disposi on on behalf of the city and could also interact with private developers and landowners.

Additionally, Redevelopment Authorities typically understand the local dynamics of a city. In order to jus fy this type of agency, the Redevelopment Authority will establish clear guidelines and a vision, centered around adap ng to sea level rise. Though conten ous, the Redevelopment Authorityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s powers of eminent domain could be of use when sea level rise threatens the safety of proper es.

Newport Harbor begins to experience the consequences of 2-feet sea level rise, the city will disincen ve certain development in flood-prone areas. Through downzoning and increased setback requirements, Newport can lessen the appeal of developing on the harbor. Harbor development will be limited to low-intensity (agricultural, recrea onal, open space) or resilient uses (floa ng structures). Addi onally, rebuilding will be restricted a er repeated loss eventsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the Redevelopment Authority will assist with enforcing rebuilding restric ons. With that being said, the city will an cipate and mi gate the poten al economic impacts on harbor landowners, now and in the future; this can be achieved by a transferable development credit program or a buyout program.

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Recommendation 4: Promote FEMA Buyout Program 2-Ft SLR At 2-feet sea level rise, when the impacts are becoming ever more apparent, Newport can apply to FEMA to fund buyouts on behalf of the aďŹ&#x20AC;ected homeowners at the harbor. FEMA will be the primary funding source (75%) for the buyouts, and Newport will collaborate with the Acquidneck Land Trust and other NPOs to fund the diďŹ&#x20AC;erence. It is worth no ng that the homes impacted by sea level rise will likely be worth less by the me of the buyout compared to the current value, thus making it easier and less expensive to buyout some of the last property owners exposed to all levels of sea level rise.

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Loss of Housing as a Financial Asset

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knowing that Newport Harbor is 60% renter-occupied and 75% of the homes are used seasonally, a majority of homeowners will not receive direct financial assistance; of course, all homeowners are able to dispose of their property on the open market if possible.

Once Newport secures funds from FEMA to purchase homes on harbor, those homeowners will use the funds from the sale to secure new housing. The city will then take ownership of harbor parcels, turning them into new innova ve green space to deal with sea level rise, or floa ng districts. Simultaneously, the previous residents will enter the market for a new home in Newport. For proper es not funded by the buyout program, the Redevelopment Authority may exercise is powers of eminent domain as homes become unsafe to occupy.

Figure S1-10. Ra onal of Buyout Programs

Action 1: Acknowledge potential losses and prioritize assistance Sea level rise has different implica ons for various stakeholders. At the Newport Harbor, property owners could be classified as ins tu onal investors, individual investors or seasonal homeowners, and primaryresidence homeowners. Therefore, Newport should acknowledge the par es that will suffer the greatest internal and external losses. Ul mately, direct assistance should be provided to primary-residence homeowners; these homeowners are likely heavily invested in their property, and the financial strain of losing a primary asset is coupled with the need to find new housing. Though,

Recommendation 5: Land Exchange and Moving Program 2-Ft SLR Action 1: Permit subdivision of smaller single-family parcels Single family housing is the dominant form of housing for Newport and the harbor. In order to retain the singlefamily housing inventory, and overall city character, Newport can allow further subdivision of existing parcels—increasing the number of single-family lots.

While single-family subdivision is currently allowed, it

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is limited by setback, lot coverage, and minimum area requirements. However, as Newport will reform certain restric ons, such as further reducing the minimum lot area from 10,000 square feet, it will increase the feasibility of subdividing land. In order to guarantee the development of single-family lots, it is important for the city to educate homeowners about the reduced restric ons and the opportunity to subdivide lots. Homeowners will be incen vized by profits from selling oďŹ&#x20AC; por ons of land or the property tax savings that would come from occupying a smaller parcel.

Figure S1-11. Example of successful subdivision and poten al subdivision opportunity

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Funds secured from FEMA, increased tax revenue from new development, and addi onal assistance from HUD and the State will allow the Redevelopment Authority to purchase the subdivided lots. These newly acquired, cityowned lots could be exchanged with harbor homeowners.

Having the city purchase some of the subdivided singlefamily lots will help guarantee aďŹ&#x20AC;ordability when harbor homeowners need to secure new housing. Furthermore, the city can reserve select subdivided lots for homes that are able to be moved from the harbor.

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Figure S1-12. Land Exchange & Moving Program Func ons

Action 2: Prioritize structures to move In evalua ng which homes to relocate, Newport should priori ze registered historic homes; the structures should rise no more than 2-floors. Newport could poten ally fund the moving cost, which is es mated to be around $250,000 for a 2-story house2. Moving historic structures to subdivided lots, will help aesthe cally ground the neighborhoods with the new subdivided lots, and already has been done for the crea on of the Point Neighborhood. Sourcing con guous single-family parcels for the historic homes would help preserve the integrity of Newportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s celebrated character. As many of the historic homes in the Point Neighborhood have already been moved from elsewhere, moving those structure to other places where the historical integrity of the neighborhood will not be lost is already engrained in Newportâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s historical iden ty.

Figure S1-13. Home in the Point Neighborhood

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Conclusion The diagram reveals each recommenda on and its func on regarding the inflow and ou low of capital or land. The recommenda ons are centered on the increased revenue from new developments and the func ons of a Redevelopment Authority to foster the maturity of iden fied development zones and assist selected harbor landowners.

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Figure S1-14. Planned Reloca on Summary Diagram

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Strategy 2

Embracing SLR as an economic development tool Introduction Newport currently faces with several threats to its economic growth, mainly as the main economic hub of Newport and with most of its area exposed to impacts related to Sea Level Rise, the City has a unique opportunity to think holis cally and provide incen ves to become a model of best prac ces for other coastal ci es dealing with threats of Sea Level Rise. Proposed recommenda ons for this strategy include a floa ng district called The Weatherly District, targe ng cultural tourism as an alterna ve to using the harbor for accommoda ons, and developing a water dependent economy through workforce and place-based policies.

Vision “Newport Harbor will become one of the main innovaࢼon hubs in New England. Newport will steer its tourism industry to be more resilient. Finally, the working waterfront will foster an innovaࢼve culture to live with the reality of Sea Level Rise.”

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The Weatherly District: a floating district to innovate responses to sea level rise in the Northeast Introduction Newport is known to be a place of innova on as it relates to the water thanks to being one of the prominent US Navy Bases, and being the city that hosted America’s cup, a premiere sailing rega a from 1930 to 1983. This history of innova on around water will con nue to live on with the crea on of the Weatherly District. Named a er The Weatherly, a yacht built in 1958 and victorious defender to the 1962 America’s Cup, now able to be chartered for a sailing tour of Narraganse Bay1, The proposed floa ng district will create ways to con nue to live and work close to the water despite increases in water level in the next decades. This strategy will also provide new ways for the City to recuperate some of the revenues generated from its largest taxpayers currently located in the harbor that will move as a result of rising sea levels as shown on the suscep bility map.

Case Study

Figure S2-1. Centrumeiland, Netherlands. Source: h ps://www.citylab. com/environment/2018/08/amsterdam-ijmeer-ijburg-centrumeilandar ficial-islands/567383/

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Engineers have been fascinated with claiming land from rivers and oceans since they started to create ar ficial islands and increasing land masses.

Addi onally, humans have lived on boats all year long since they have been able to create floa ng structures. Today is no different. The Netherlands became pioneers in crea ng floa ng islands, as is the case of Centrumeiland amongst many other examples2.

Those floa ng ci es are either made up of amphibian homes (homes that will rise as sea level rises), or floa ng homes (homes built on floats rather than using boats yearlong).

This trend has moved to other protected parts of north America, mostly in the north-west (San Fransisco,CA, Portland,WA, Sea le, WA, and Victoria BC, amongst others), but also on the east coast (Fort Lauderdale, FL, Sea Village, NJ).

The exis ng sta onary floa ng districts usually include some type of commercial and residen al land uses, are governed by associa ons like Homeowners Associa ons (HOA) or Marinas and are able to withstand storms due to being a ached to sturdy poles and good emergency management.

Figure S2-4. Fishermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wharf, Victoria, BC. Source: h ps://gvha.ca/ marinas-facili es/fishermans-wharf/

Figure S2-5. Sea le Floa ng Ci es. Source: h p:// .floa nghomes.org/ sea le-floa ng-homes-tour-draws-850/

Figure S2-2. Cross Sec on. Source: h ps://portlandfloa nghomes.com/ owners/

Figure S2-3. Fishermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wharf Layout. Source: h ps://gvha.ca/ marinas-facili es/maps/

Figure S2-6. Portland, WA Floa ng District. Source: h p:// mccuddysmarina.com/boat-houses/

Figure S2-7. Sea Village, NJ. Source: h ps://www.pressofatlan ccity. com/news/local/

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Stationary Floating Structures in Rhode Island While floa ng structures are sparsely present in Rhode Island, the State has authorized them under certain circumstances. The Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) has zoned all the state waters into five

types of uses, including open water, and residen al and commercial waters. Sta onary floa ng structures, defined as houseboats by CRMC regula ons, are allowed in Type 5 waters as long as they are located in Marinas.

According to the regula ons, a houseboat as defined in CRMC regula ons (Red Book) at 650-RICR-20-001.1.12(A)(74) means “a building constructed on a float, barge, or hull as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-22-9.1.” R.I.

Figure S2-8. Water types. Source: h p://www.rigis.org/datasets/water-type-boundaries?geometry=-71.405%2C41.474%2C-71.266%2C41.496

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Gen. Laws § 46-22-9.1 defines houseboat as “a building constructed on a float, ra , or barge that is used for single or mul ple family habita on or is represented as a place of business. If used as a means of transporta on, this use is secondary. ‘Houseboat’ includes pla orms, and waterborne hotels and restaurants.”

well insulated to accommodate year-round use, linked to inland u li es and managed by a marina or HOA. Docks become streets that can either be managed by co-owners through agreements or by the city depending on uses and public access. Since the structures are sta onary, each placement is set up as a property, and able to be taxed as any business or residence is by the City of Newport.

The Newport Harbor is zoned as Type 5 waters and already has several marinas used by recrea onal boat users and visitors. Exis ng Marinas already have long waitlists for boat owners go get docking and mooring spots, organized by each marina, and all under the Harbor Master’s preview. Because sea level rise means more space for moorings, but also loss of areas, the Harbor master will be able to reorganize the harbor with a floa ng district presented under Recommenda on 1 of this strategy.

Based on exis ng building types in the harbor, the sta onary floa ng structures will be used for Hotels/ Inns and other types of accommoda ons, Retail, Restaurants and Bars, as well as any commercial uses (office, labs, etc.). Newport has a unique opportunity to set itself as one of the first coastal ci es in the northeast to officially welcome floa ng districts as part of its resiliency program to welcome the effects of sea level rise at all levels, making it an innova ve model for adapta on to sea level rise, bringing in visitors, residents, and businesses.

Action 1: Newport Becomes a Model for Year-Round Floating Cities as an Innovative Response for Sea Level Rise Standard and uses Floa ng districts with sta onary homes are presented as an innova ve place to live, in some cases more comfortable than houseboats. Since they are all connected to floa ng docks and poles, the floa ng structures can withstand storms and rising sea levels. The structures are

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Action 2: Weatherly District Pilot Project Based on current Marina Layout and in the projected needs for the floa ng district as shown in the feasibility study and case studies, and working with the Newport Yacht Club and the Marriot hotel, two structures that will lose parts of their buildings and infrastructure to sea level rise; the first pilot project will be located in

the Newport Yacht Club marina, and may host up to 16 structures, hos ng one new hotel (ten structures, four rooms per structure), and six commercial structures.

These new proper es would be managed by a joint venture between the Newport Harbor Master and the Newport Yacht club would relocate its docks to the south part of the wharf that they already have. Money to build the docks would be raised by a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District, securing bonds for building the docks by future property taxes.

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Action 3: Scaling the Weatherly District As the Weatherly District Pilot project becomes successful and more wharves are washed by water twice a day, every day, the man made docks will be replaced by floa ng docks and current commercial and residen al tenants will have priority on ge ng a sta onary structure as the docks get built. U li es will s ll be based inland.

Each wharf will get its own marina and organize as a business associa on to manage the floa ng docks in coordina on with the Harbor Master, and the work along the proposed Harbor Walk. Layout will be proposed by

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the new tenants and the Harbor Master to make sure that boats can s ll circulate. Each sta onary structure will have its own property taxes going into a TIF District for the next 30 years, paying for scaling the district as well as parts of the Harbor Walk.

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Embracing SLR as an economic development tool Introduction Tourism is one of the biggest contributors to Newportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy. Unfortunately, many of Newportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tourism-related assets are in the harbor, and most of them are exposed to 5 Sea Level Rise. For Newport to con nue to succeed economically, it is important to shi to a year-round economy more resilient to Sea Level Rise, while maintaining the tourism base in order to avoid possible blight or recession. This plan recommends promo on of cultural tourism in Newport, and a shi of investment from heavily harbor-based to more evenly distributed elsewhere in the city.

Recommendation 1. Promote cultural tourism The first recommenda on is to promote cultural tourism in Newport. Cultural Tourism is the kind of tourism that is concerned with the lifestyle and history of the people living in a locality. More specifically, it is about their art, architecture, religion, and other elements that helped shape their way of life.

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In the context of Newport, cultural tourism refers to tourism with des na ons being Newport Mansions, museums, galleries, historic homes, and with ac vi es including ea ng local and experiencing local music and fes val events.

Newport does have an ideal base for cultural tourism. The map pinpoints the top tourist des na ons and ac vi es in Newport, most of which are Newport Mansions. Over 90%3 of all Newport visitors consider the mansions as their primary reason to come to the city. They are also the top 14 visited tourist a rac ons during oďŹ&#x20AC; seasons in not just Newport but Rhode Island as a whole.

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Figure S2-12. Top tourist des na ons and ac vi es in Newport. Source: USNEWS & TripAdvisor

Action 1. Strengthen cooperation The plan seeks to strengthen coopera on between all par es related to tourism in Newport. Newport Tourism Department will be established as the authority to account for future implementa ons of tourism policies and seek poten al financing opportuni es.

The three par es, Tourism Department, Discover Newport and Newport Mansions will enhance their collabora on and communica on. The Preserva on Society of Newport County, the owner of Newport Mansions, will be more involved in the process. This coopera on will also leverage the Preserva on Society’s sponsor posi on and close Re-imagining Newport Harbor 2050

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rela onship with local businesses to bridge Newport Tourism Department and local hotels and restaurants.

This ac on will start as soon as possible regardless of SLR.

This ac on should follow the comple on of the previous ac on.

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and appreciate Newport’s culture. They are also good for hotel businesses. Informa on on Newport Mansions and Discover Newport websites will be integrated for be er adver sing of cultural events.

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Figure S2-15. Tiffany Glass Exhibits at Rosecliff. Source: h ps://www. newportmansions.org/

hotels

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Figure S2-13. Coopera on structure between all par es

Action 2. Improve cultural tourism programming and marketing Tourism products will be better programmed and promoted so that Newport’s culture is closely embedded in the contents. Newport Mansions are the most important assets to local tourism. 40% of all mansion tourists are returning visitors and mansion visitors have large posi ve economic spillovers, with 90% of their spending outside Newport Mansions.

The map shows all major winter festival events in Newport. These events will be leveraged to bring in more recurring winter visitors and promote Newport’s history and culture. The “Christmas at Newport Mansions” will be promoted as a signature event. Hotels will be involved in promo ng cultural tourism through “cultural concierges”.

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Figure S2-14. Christmas at Newport Mansions. Source: h ps://www. newportmansions.org/

Figure S2-16. Cultural concierge at Four Season Resort in Milano. Source: h p://www.unesco.org/en/university-twinning-and-networking/access-bydomain/culture/cultural-tourism/

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area is alarming. The map shows that 3 hotels in the harbor that are exposed to 5 Sea Level Rise take up 40%6 of the overall hotel rooms in the city. Therefore, it is recommended that hotel investment be shi ed to elsewhere in the city than in the harbor exposed to 5 Sea Level Rise.

Recommendation 2. Steer hotel investment away from the harbor Hotels are important to keep the base of tourism in Newport. Of all visitors to Newport Mansions, 65% are overnight visitors, and 40%5 of them choose to stay at a hotel room. The clustering of hotels in the harbor

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Action 1. Assess hotel vulnerability

Action 3. Create Harbor Overlay to deincentivize investment in the harbor

There will be a vulnerability assessment study for all hotels in the harbor area to analyze the extent of exposure to Sea Level Rise, the magnitude of impact, and poten al economic losses, so that future plans are more realis c about the situa ons.

The plan proposes a zoning overlay called Harbor Overlay as the map shows. The ra onale of this ac on is to de-incen vize investment through zoning and building codes. All short-term rental proper es and hotels in this overlay will be taxed a CCR (Corporate Cultural Responsibility) Tax. Buildings codes and long-term owning or opera on requirements will be set up as barriers of entry. The overlay excludes the Weatherly District and any other proper es that are on water.

This ac on should start as soon as possible and recurring at each flooding events un l 3 Sea Level Rise.

Action 2. Cease tax incentives for hotel investment in the harbor

This ac on should be triggered at 3 Sea Level Rise.

The overlay should expand, or contract based on the investment pa erns at trigger point.

All forms of assistance to hotel investment and development in the harbor area on land will be ceased at 2 SLR (not coun ng the Weatherly District). Now there are tax breaks for new hotels in the harbor, this encourages more investment because tax incen ves reduce cost of capital for investment. This ac on will make inves ng in the area exposed to 5 Sea Level Rise less a rac ve, and therefore slowly shi ing the current pa ern of investment.

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Figure S2-19. Proposed Harbor Overlay

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Innovation in Newport Introduction As men oned in the sec ons above, the city’s reliance on tourism as its main industry hinders its ability to resist economic and climate shi s. Moreover, the seemingly growing labor trend of labor catering to tourism through service (low-paying) jobs not only pu ng more residents at risk of economic loss as their job sources may be affected by Sea Level Rise; but this phenomenon will also cause increased inequality as residents’ ability to afford to live and work in the area is diminished due to stagnant low wages, while the housing and entertainment opportuni es become more exclusive by catering to tourists and seasonal residents with higher incomes than current residents.

Recommendation 1. Shift to a year-round Economy A possible solu on to steer Newport towards economic resiliency is to a ract Blue Industries and to ride the wave of the Blue Economy.

According to Rhode Island’s Workforce Development Plan, the Blue Economy consists of all resources and industries emana ng from the ocean. The Blue Economy is relevant because it supports a wide range of economic ac vi es including medium-skilled, high-paying, yearround jobs.

Figure S2-20. Blue economy: Five growth sectors. Source: sonicdebris.com

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Moreover, Narragansett bay is a Global Center of Excellence in the Blue Economy and Newport is a prime example of all the elements that according to Rhode Island’s Workforce Development Plan7 would enable it to thrive in a Blue Economy.

Looking at similarly sized ci es like Buffalo, NY; we have clear examples of how a rac ng innova on has brought new life to otherwise worn-out cities with waning industries and weak economies.

Unfortunately, looking at Newport in a regional context, it turns out that Newport is falling behind. Looking at Newport’s direct regional compe tors, we find that Newport doesn’t house any Fortune 500 companies, does not have thousands of small businesses, neither does it have a strong startup incubator presence nor has a local Workforce Development Plan.

Innova ve industries are important for a new economy as for every job they create, 5 more are indirectly created in the service sector8. Newport’s neighboring ci es understand the importance of innova on in a new economy and have all those elements and more that have enabled them to a ract and retain new innova ve industries that strengthen their economies and their presence as business hubs.

Figure S2-22. Cultural concierge at Four Season Resort in Milano

Figure S2-21. Newport Blue Economy scorecard

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Case Study Buffalo, NY is a post-industrial city with waterfront facing the edge of the Great lakes. Similar to Newport, it has experienced economic shi s from a heavily yetoutdated manufacturing base to now successfully harnessing an innova ve economy. This economic shi was accomplished by the leadership of Governor Cuomo and major Brown who have ensured that the engine of the city is headed towards prosperity for all the city’s residents not only benefi ng the privileged few.

As a result, the city is star ng to grow its popula on, the percent of people living in poverty has decreased and overall, the residents share a new hope for the future of their city as it becomes a world-class center for biotechnological research and a be er place to live. More recently the city has pledged to become a climate refuge city as it incorporates ac ons to mi gate the impacts of climate change for its residents.

Buffalo’s case is unique in the na on, in which the governor appointed $1 billion to the specific purpose of a rac ng innova ve industries. The city then dra ed and implemented an Investment Development Plan9 in which it outlined the strategies it would implement towards prosperity. Highlights include using its assets as strengths, collabora ng with anchor ins tu ons to create jobs, a ract worldclass technology companies and implemen ng a regional workforce development strategy to create a pipeline for new jobs, plus enhancing the quality of life, with modern infrastructure.

Figure S2-23. Buffalo College

Like the Buffalo case, this recommenda on strives to take Newport’s Assets to bring the economy to safe harbor through the a rac on of innova ve Blue Industries.

One of Newport’s Assets is its mari me heritage. The city’s history has long defined its residents’ iden ty as sea men. The city boasts large areas of working waterfront, shipbuilding sites and anchor ins tu ons.

Secondly, the city has a large inventory of available land.

While we are aware of the parking issues between tourists and residents during the high season, this is a proposal for higher and be er uses for the land. Moreover, with the Naval Base opera ng at about 30% of its capacity the poten al availability and adap ve reuse of that site should be also taken into considera on in future workforce development plans.

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Finally, we have iden fied a collec on of sites that could poten ally be ideal to a ract and retain Blue Industries into Newport. The a ributes considered for the site selec on included: city-ownership, located within walking distance to waterfront, oversized footprint, not exposed to Sea Level Rise.

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Figure S2-24. Harbor mari me sites

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Figure S2-26. Newport development site

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Action 1: Draft and Enact a city Workforce Development Plan This plan will guide Newportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mari me Sector to a more prosperous economy in which residents are qualified to take jobs in the Blue Industries that will come. These industries will develop partnerships with anchor ins tu ons to create a workforce pipeline that enables them to choose to hire residents over bringing people from out of town.

$1 in exchange for a 30-year lease; or tax abatements as well as community development agreements in which the companies will commit to hiring from the community and training residents before bringing new personnel from out of town.

Figure S2-27. Workforce of a diversified economy. Source: h ps://www. alaska.edu/research/wp/plans/

Figure S2-28. Walkable streets. Source: h ps://collec veimpactlab. com/2008/08/18/outside-top-renaissance-towns-2008/

Action 2: Attract Blue Industries through place-based interventions and strong leadership commitments

Action 3: Procure Blue Economy Tenants and Funding for selected sites

These interven ons will be targeted to local, non-tourism related businesses. With crea ve placemaking, and a suppor ve tax structure, more people who currently work in the service (tourism industry will feel empowered and supported to become entrepreneurs and Newport will assist them in star ng and sustaining their business ventures.

This ac on must be simultaneously implemented with Ac on 2. This way the city captures the industry and ensures that it stays and lives up to its commitment of crea ng jobs and hiring through the community.

A more entrepreneurial environment will then start to create clusters of entrepreneurs and businesses thus igni ng a poten al for a future Innova on District in Newport.

This ac on must be started by as soon as possible the state government and supported by local leadership in which the city looks the best blue industries and oďŹ&#x20AC;ers them a rac ve terms in order to enable them to come to Newport. Successful examples include, land sales at Figure S2-29. Business incubators. Source: velocityglobal.com

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Some preliminary funding sources iden fied for this ac on are: HUDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Regional Economic Development Planning Grant: This grant has successfully been used by the city of Providence, RI in dra ing their own Workforce Development Ini a ve10. We believe that Newport Could benefit from this grant in enabling the city to develop its locally targeted workforce development plan.

Innovate RI Fund: This is a dedicated fund to enable small businesses to foster job crea on, facilitate small business development and enhance the workforce pipeline. The goals of the program are to leverage state funds to encourage and support Rhode Island entrepreneurial par cipa on , increase the amount of federal research dollars received by Rhode Island firms, sustain companies through the early stages of product development, encourage the establishment of high poten al, high quality, high growth ventures in Rhode Island and enhance the talent pipeline in the life sciences and engineering fields11.

Business Tax Credits: Rhode Island boasts some of the most aggressive employment and training tax credit

programs in the na on12. The city of Newport must implement a marke ng-type strategy to educate the public regarding the opportuni es and benefits of being a business owner and facilitate the applica on processes and requirements in order to ensure max achievement and retention of the benefits outlined. This would enable more residents to become business-owners/ entrepreneurs, thus facilita ng the crea on of business clusters towards a more innova ve economy.

While looking at case study-ci es like BuďŹ&#x20AC;alo, NY only gives us an overview of strategies that could work for Newport. There is no ques on of the need and the resources that Newport has in hand to make the shi happen. Strong leadership and commitment by Mayor Bova, as well as from Economic Development director, Patricia Reynolds are paramount for the success of this recommenda on. Moreover, looking at neighboring ci es like Pawtucket, RI where the newest workforce development site has been launched13 and Quonset Business Park, in Neighboring Kingston, RI. gives us a glimpse of what the New Reality of Newport must become in the future in order to endure the economic strains that Sea Level Rise will impose on the city.

Figure S2-30. Newport collage

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Strategy 3

Infrastructure and Waterfront Access Introduction The strategy focuses on the incremental strategy of 2 , 3 , 5 sea level rise regarding the physical waterfront. The incremental approach analyses how public access and current infrastructure will change as the sea level rises and how a planned reloca on leaves new opportuni es on the waterfront. Through two main recommenda ons, to redesign the harbor walk and to re-imagine parking space, this strategy will re-envision how the public realm will accommodate twice a day inunda on. This approach is supported by the following vision;

Vision “Newport Harbor will be transformed into a resilient landscape that will provide public access to an ever-changing waterfront as sea levels conࢼnue to rise. The incremental recommendaࢼons will foster innovaࢼon in resilient infrastructure to enhance public access and awareness of the changing waterfront. The infrastructure and waterfront access strategy will manage sea level rise flooding by re-envisioning the Harbor Walk as a floodable, resilient public space. Adapࢼve reuse of the exposed parking spaces will introduce new types of green spaces to protect the area and create recreaࢼon space for the community.”

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Recommendation 1: Re-envisioning the Harbor Walk Redesigning the Harbor Walk, will use the opportunity of the planned reloca on to redesign the waterfront to maintain public access and to accommodate for sea level rise. To analysis the poten al of the harbor walk basic exis ng condi ons were conducted, including looking at surrounding public trails, a harbor walk use study, and a condi on, and accessibility analysis. A er the analysis, the full level of opportunity is discovered leading to the design proposal of the Harbor Walk.

Existing Conditions: Newport Public Access Trail Network Newport RI has five main public trails/access routes, including the Harbor walk, the Memorial Blvd Bike Lane, Thames St shared road, Fort Adams trail, Cliff Walk, and Ocean Drive. All these trails are open to the public and allow public access to the waterfront, but are not connected to each other and promote different types of travel modes. Except for Ocean Drive providing safe headways to cars only, most of the other routes are safely

Existing Harbor Walk Conditions The current Harbor Walk, designed by the Friends of the Waterfront, is fragmented and informal. While it is designated as publicly accessible, it does not exist as such for residents and/or visitors. The route has public access permission but zigzags through private proper es. Most of the surfaces are impervious parking, hotels, condos, and/or private property. The Harbor Walk is also dis nctly separated within four main uses, mixed use, single use, recrea onal, and marine industrial. The mixed uses along the Harbor Walk are concentrated within the central part along Thames St, America’s Cup Ave, Memorial Blvd.

These mixed uses include many businesses such as hotels, retail and restaurants, with Bowen’s Wharf as a prime example. The single uses in the Harbor Walk include Goat Island and lower Thames which is concentrated mostly with hotels and residen al condos, with Gerney’s as a prime example. The recrea onal uses include King Park and Perro Park. These are public spaces where recrea onal ac vi es are encouraged. Finally, there is the marine industrial use, which is concentrated along Long Wharf in the north end of the Harbor Walk. This includes the fisheries and lobster shacks. Overall, the Harbor walk has different uses throughout, giving it a different character.

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Figure S3-3. Harbor Walk Current Condi ons and Accessibility

Because of the varying uses along the Harbor Walk, the physical condi ons and accessibility varies drama cally as well. The following criteria where used to examine the condi ons and accessibility of the Harbor Walk: accessibility and walkability for pedestrians, loca on to waterfront, visibility to the street, physical condi ons, and comfort level and a rac veness. These criteria measured the Harbor Walk to rank its accessibility and condi ons from High (very good condi ons) to very low.

Features that are measured included sidewalks, loca on to waterfront, condi on of paving, aesthe cs, comfort level, places to site, etc. According to these criteria most

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of the Harbor Walk has moderate or low condi ons and accessibility. Thames Street, Bowenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wharf and most of King Park have the best accessibility and condi ons.

These areas have great paving, lots of ac vi es, and is close to the waterfront. The lowest accessibility is concentrated along the lower Harbor Walk and Goat Island. This area has few or no sidewalks, not accessible to Thames Street, and no uses. King Park is divided because while it has great accessibility its condi ons are low because of erosion and the crumbling seawall. Comparing the condi ons to SLR inunda on, most of the harbor walk will be flooded twice a day. This leaves an opportunity

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Figure S3-4. Harbor Walk Condi ons overlaid with SLR

Figure S3-5. Boston Harborwalk. Source: h p://www.pinterest.com/

to improve the low condi ons and accessibility to the Harbor Walk.

and property damage. The need to maintain and create public access to waterfront also creates this opportunity.

Boston Harborwalk serves as an example of what the Harbor Walk could be like.

Because the Newport Harbor will be flooded twice a day, current condi ons of the Harbor Walk will have to change drama cally and quickly. Most of the surfaces are impervious and will cause property damage and water pollu on. As SLR occurs, surface parking and proper es will have to be relocated away from the harbor. This creates an opportunity to redesign the harbor walk to be more resilient for daily flooding and reduce pollu on

Figure S3-6. Harbor Walk Current Condi ons and Accessibility Scale

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Recommendation 1: Harbor Walk Proposal

Feasibility Study to Change the Harbor Walk

The design for the Harbor Walk looks at the opportunity that sea level rise will cause a planned reloca on along the waterfront, thus leaving open space to be used by the public during low des, as well as transfer to floa ng docks depending on feasibility. As proper es move due to flooding, the new open spaces will be protected and redesigned to accommodate for daily flooding and public access. Each design phase uses a trigger point of sea level rise, which determines when the ac on should take place.

Following the overall incremental design, there are four main recommenda ons for the Harbor Walk; a seawall walk, coastal steps, elevated walk, and urban marshland.

Seawall walk is to prevent flooding and allow for public access. On top of the seawall will have a walkway allowing the public to s ll walk along and view the waterfront while enabling hard infrastructure. The seawall can also allow for natural marshes or green space to serve as a barrier along the wall. The second recommenda on is coastal steps to accommodate for flooding and for people to interact with high de. Coastal steps allow people to walk down to the water, as well as view the water rise and lower from high de to low de. This allows people to physical view sea level rise. The elevated walk allows for public access during high des. When the land is fully inundated the elevated walk s ll gives

Recommendations Seawall Walk

Coastal Steps/Stepped Walk

Elevated Walk/Trail

Urban Marshland

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Figure S3-7. Seawall in Vancouver. Source: h p://www.vancouvertourism.com/

Figure S3-8. The Sea Organ in Zadar Croa a.

Source: h p://inhabit.com/

Figure S3-9. Schuylkill River Trail in Philadelphia, PA. Source: h p://www.phillymag.com/

Figure S3-10. Hunterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Point South Park in NYC. Source: h p://www.hunterspointparks.org/

access to the public. The last recommenda on is urban wetland/marshlands to create green spaces, eco-tourism, improve water quality and allows for high de. Urban marshland allows for inunda on as well as increases the water quality by the filtra on of the plants. Water quality is also improved by the natural system replacing the otherwise impervious parking lot that would contain pollutants such as oil. The North End uses the seawall

approach, and the South End accommodates for SLR. This goal focuses on the elevated walk, stepped walk, and habitat walk in the South End. The South End was chosen as a focus point because it had low condi ons and accessibility. The recommenda ons will be explored further through the elevated walk, stepped walk, habitat walk within chosen site studies.

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Figure S3-12. Elevated Walk 0 SLR

Figure S3-13. Elevated Walk 2 SLR

Figure S3-14. Elevated Walk 3 SLR

Figure S3-15. Elevated Walk 3 SLR

Elevated Walk The elevated walk has the highest opportunity to be along King Park, Spencer Park and Wellington Ave. This area will be completely inundated by 5 sea level rise, thus requiring an elevated path. King and Spencer park will be a marshland a er the current eroded seawall is removed and Wellington Ave is elevated at 3 SLR. The elevated bridge will allow the high de to feed and circulate the habitat. By 5 SLR the bridge will s ll allow for public access a er the surrounding neighborhood is relocated.

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Stepped Walk The stepped walk allows for public access to water during high de and will have green steps and a marshland at the bo om of the steps. The proposed site is currently a parking lot and will be redeveloped as a stepped walk incrementally from 2 to 5 SLR. At 2 , and 3 SLR the

stepped walk will not be inundated, and high de will be concentrated within the natural green barrier. At 5 SLR the steps will be inundated allowing the water to interact with the steps. The steps will enable the public to walk down to the marshlands on bo om during low des. The dock is also floa ng and movable to allow for flexibility during the des.

Figure S3-16. Stepped Walk 0 SLR

Figure S3-17. Stepped Walk 2 SLR

Figure S3-18. Stepped Walk 3 SLR

Figure S3-19. Stepped Walk 5 SLR

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Figure S3-20. Habitat Walk 0 SLR

Figure S3-21. Habitat Walk 2 SLR

Figure S3-22. Habitat Walk 3 SLR

Figure S3-23. Habitat Walk 5 SLR

Habitat Walk Like the stepped walk, the habitat walk is proposed along a present underu lized parking lot. Rather than having steps the habitat walk has a terrace along the buildings with a natural marshland below. At 2 and 3 SLR the habitat is minorly inundated, but fully inundated by 5 SLR. This recommenda on replaces the currently impervious surfaces with natural green space while maintain public access.

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Harbor Walk and Ocean Drive At 5 SLR the Harbor Walk can become a larger system and incorporate the surrounding trails. This will combine the current fragmented Newport public access into a connected larger system. It can act as a barrier and provide public space along the coast of Newport. Ocean drive could link to Fort Adams Trail and the Harbor Walk, as a biking and pedestrian trail. This new â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ocean Walkâ&#x20AC;? could become a bike and walking trail with a seawall and green space protec ng the Newport Neck from inunda on.

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Figure S3-24. Poten al Ocean Walk

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Figure S3-26. Harbor Walk 2 SLR

Recommendation 1: Action 1: Enhance the Presence of the Existing Harbor Walk Trigger Point: 2ft SLR The first phase for the Harbor Walk is at 2 SLR. At this stage, the Harbor Walk will be re-routed to be more direct and less disconnected. This is to make the Harbor Walk easier to access and experience. Wayfinding will

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be added throughout the walk to celebrate waterfront access in Newport. This ac on will include adding maps of the harbor walk, informing a viewer of sea level rise implica ons of the harbor. Minor inunda on at 2 , mostly around Spencer Park and Bowenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wharf, that will be changed into either floa ng docks to be integrated into the Weatherly District or open space depending on feasibility. At this phase li le hard construc on is achieved and is mostly low-cost projects like new signage, sidewalks, and even painted paths. The mission is to inform the public that the Harbor Walk exists, so more extensive improvements will be supported in the future.

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Figure S3-27. Harbor Walk 2 SLR during high de

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Figure S3-28. Harbor Walk 3 SLR

Recommendation 1: Action 2: Creation of a bridge as sea level continues to rise Trigger Point: 3ft SLR By 3 SLR, more land is inundated, causing King Park, Spencer Park, some of the wharfs and the northern harbor to flood. As more buildings and parking lots are removed, they are remained undeveloped and preserved

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as open space. To manage inunda on along Wellington Ave, King Park and Spencer Park are reconstructed into marshlands to accommodate for the high de. The Harbor Walk along King Park will be elevated as bridge trail to maintain public access.

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Figure S3-29. Harbor Walk 3 SLR during high de

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Figure S3-30. Harbor Walk 5 SLR

Recommendation 1: Action 3: A new Harbor Walk in a 5-feet SLR reality Trigger Point: 5ft SLR By 5ft SLR, the Harbor Walk will be relocated to Thames, due to inunda on along the Harbor Walk.

Thames becomes a pedestrian promenade as Spring St is redesigned into a two-way street. This is possible

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because by 5 SLR, the planned reloca on has decreased the demand of traffic along Thames, allowing Spring St to replace Thames. America’s Cup Ave is elevated to maintain the transit access of the transit hub and the connec on to Memorial Blvd. The North End is protected by a seawall, which protects the Point Neighborhood with many historic proper es and high density and the transit hub and America’s Cup. The South End will be relocated and will have the bridge to preserve public access and will have marshlands. The South End is not protected because it will cost billions to build a floodgate and larger pump sta on. It is also lower density and not historical. This

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Figure S3-31. Harbor Walk 5 SLR during high de

strategy looks at the poten al of protec on and retreat along the harbor, with the protec on of the northern harbor and retreat of the southern harbor.

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As Newport Harbor slowly retreats during 2 , 3 , 5 SLR the new open space will have the poten al to be redesign ed into resilient public access. Using seawalls, elevated walks, stepped walks and habitat walks, the Harbor Walk will be a vital piece of public infrastructure by 5 SLR. Overall, Newport Harbor will have the opportunity to enhance the public access along the waterfront while accommoda ng for SLR.

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Figure S3-34. Exposed Surface Parking Lots

Recommendation 2: Re-imagining Parking Space to be more resilient Protec ng and introducing green space to Newport Harbor is cri cal to make the area as resilient to sea level rise for as long as possible before inevitable planned reloca on. There are three ac ons that will be triggered by different SLR scenarios. Each recommenda on is made according to the dis nct character of the flooded harbor area, aiming to mi gate the loss of the parking spaces and enhance the public realm.

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Existing Conditions: A parking inventory is conducted for all the public and private parking lots in our study area. The number of exposed parking spaces increases sharply with the progress of sea level rise. However, the challenge posed on the parking lots is not limited to the loss of parking spaces, but also a threaten to the surrounding neighborhoods and the surface run off intensified by the impervious surfaces of the parking lots.

We further explore the parking inventory and make a quan le break for the number of exposed parking spaces in each scenario. The map (figure X) shows the result.

Combining this map and our suscep bility map, we chose five public-accessible parking lots which are associate with highest loss of parking spaces in each scenario and locate in the parcels that are most likely to change.

(Figure X) For each scenario, one site will be used as an example to illustrate how the recommenda on works.

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Parking Type Public Accessible Private Only

Exposed Parking Spaces 2 [.

26 parking spaces

3 [.

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Figure S3-35. Selected Parking Lots

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Case Study: Barrington, RI A similar project has been proven to be a success in the town of Barrington in Rhode Island. They also created an infiltra on park in the middle of the parking area to capture stormwater and a small buffer of na ve plants and beach grass along the coastal line to help mi gate the sea level rise.

Figure S3-36. Infiltra on Park Barrington, RI. Source: h p://uri.maps.arcgis.com/

Recommendation 2: Action 1: Green Infiltration Park Trigger Point: 2ft SLR The parking lots on Bowen’s Wharf is studied as an example for this scenario. In this stage, the sea level rise is not affec ng a vast area and the inunda on could be mi gated by installing infiltra on facili es. Zooming into the area and closely see the inunda on pa ern of the sea level rise, it can be no ced that most of the area 118

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is centered in the middle of the wharf. Therefore, the recommenda on is to install a green infiltra on park in the middle. The park is embedded into the ground with few staircases surrounding the border. A er a high de event, the water from the surrounding area will be directed to the park, constrained in it for a while, and eventually led back to the sea. The yellow line shows the route of the harbor walk, a li le bridge was added on top of the park for people to pass. This park will not only reduce the severity of the inunda on but also make the space more enjoyable.

Figure S3-37. Bowen Wharf Parking Lot Before

Figure S3-38. Bowen Wharf Parking Lot A er

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Figure S3-41. Newport Harbor Hotel Site with 3 SLR

Recommendation 2: Action 2: New Coastal Protection Trigger Point: 3ft SLR In this scenario, lots of area has been totally under the water and new coastal line is forming. The recommenda on is to build protec on along the new coastal line to protect the area that is proximity to the inunda on area from being further exposed. Taking the Newport Harbor Hotel as our study object, the water is 122

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mainly rising from the south and is approaching to the boundary of the parking lot as well as the hotel itself. To reinforce the new coastal line and reduce the impact of SLR, sea walls and a green buďŹ&#x20AC;er area in the south part is proposed. See the site plan in Figure S3-42, the area in red is the exis ng pavement that is permeable, which could be public space during low de, and is floodable during high de. It could be deposed in the future when the sea level completely covers this area. Figure S3-43 is the sec on of the new waterfront. The sea wall prevents the water from invading further inland, and the green buďŹ&#x20AC;er area separate the coastal sidewalk from the parking spaces, crea ng an enjoyable waterfront recrea on space.

Figure S3-42. Newport Harbor Hotel New Site Plan

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Figure S3-43. 3 SLR Sec on

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Figure S3-44. Newport Harbor Hotel Site with 5 SLR

Trigger Point: 5ft SLR In the 5 scenario, most of the coastal area is going to be totally under water, and it is the me to protect only the area that is worthy or is easy to save. From the flooding pa erns, Newport harbor hotel will be a model for this ac on as most of the building is untouched. The water mainly comes from the narrow entrance on the south. We could con nue to raise our former protec on structure and easily prevent the water from going inland, saving more than a hundred parking spaces.

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Figure S3-45. Newport Harbor Hotel New Site Plan

Sea Wall Permeable Surfaces Sea

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Figure S3-46. Parking Garage Site with 3 SLR

Recommendation 2: Action 3: Rising the Visitor Center Neighborhood Trigger Point: 5ft SLR The parking garage near the visitor center, which will be totally covered by the water, has to be elevated to against sea level rise. Raising this site is expensive, however by raising this site, not only hundreds of parking spaces will

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be saved and the visitor center which is a landmark of the neighborhood will be protected, but also the historical neighborhood on the upper north with many valuable proper es will also be protected. With the protec on of the elevated street around it and the buďŹ&#x20AC;ering green area, the neighborhood will be safely embraced. To mi gate with the loss of the parking spaces on the southern part.

The area that are in the red square is a poten al site for building up another parking structure.

Figure S3-47. New Parking Garage Site Plan

Sea Wall Permeable Surfaces Sea

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Horizon

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Before eleva on (figure S3-48), the hotel on the north will be firstly flushed, and then is the parking garage. The recommenda on is to managed retreat the hotel area and build a mul -purpose levee to relocate and elevate the road that is already underwater. As shown in the sec on (figure S3-49), the levee will be built to the height of the second floor of the garage, and the second floor will become the new horizon for the coastal side. Part of the second floor will be opened to the public to provide a coastal corridor for sight-seeing and recrea on. The le corner of the garage will be filled with concrete to make the connec on with the levee solid. For the inner side, the garage will stay as it is before, keeping the func on

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of parking. On the slope of the levee, salt-tolerant plant and beach grass will be planted to absorb the water and beau fy the place.

The three ac ons are of diďŹ&#x20AC;erent scales and are targe ng at diďŹ&#x20AC;erent SLR scenarios. However, they are not limited to one specific site or one period, instead, they are flexible and could be applied to any other places in the city that has similar SLR situa on. By incrementally trea ng the parking-related issues caused by SLR, the parking lots in the harbor area will be slowly upgraded to not only public facili es but also an enjoyable recrea on part of the waterfront.

Case Study: Rotterdam Netherlands There is a case study from Ro erdam, where a former marshalling yard is integrated into a mul -purpose levee, providing public space, commercial and parking for neighborhood. The levee goes right on top of the building, and the roof of the levee becomes a natural landscape and provides recrea on space for the community. This project could be a reference for

the future of the parking garage: when the sea level con nues to rise, how the levee could be elevated and how the levee works with the parking structure.

Figure S3-50. Roof Park (Dakpark) sec on. Source: h p://www.flooddefences.org/

Figure S3-51. Roof Park (Dakpark) in Ro erdam. Source: h p://landezine.com/

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Strategy 4

Public Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement in Newport Introduction The last strategy centers around public outreach and stakeholder engagement. While it is acknowledged that the City of Newport and other organizations have conducted plenty of public engagement work, recommenda ons and corresponding ac ons proposed in this section would serve as an added source of approaches to enhance the engagement process.

a 6-month moratorium to pause all major projects in the North End un l the codes and development framework are updated. However, despite sea level rise being present in the updated land use plan, and having a resiliency planner, sea level rise is not yet at the top of resident’s priori es. On the other hand, we believe that there should be more par cipa on among civil society to ensure that stakeholders and communi es understand the poten al risks of sea level rise to get prepared for the following retreat.

Effec ve communica on must appeal and connect to shared community values, connect to locally relevant and observable impacts, emphasize benefits of ac on while explicitly calling out the risks of inac on, and offer a meaningful role to the community to address the problem1.

Discussed earlier, a general sense of community engagement is recognized in Newport as ci zens do care about the way their town is developing. Residents have taken to the streets and to city hall to demonstrate their disagreement with development projects in the harbor and ci zen ac on group have actually achieved Figure S4-1. Ci zen ac on groups achieved a 6-month moratorium. Source: Newport this week.

Vision “In the coming years, Newport will further embrace sea level rise as an inherent aspect of its culture, find smarter ways to live in harmony with the water, and become a pioneer in sea level rise management. Stakeholders in Newport will be be er equipped with appropriate knowledge to ensure safety and reduce financial losses, be be er prepared to relocate, and lead more acࢼve roles in dealing with sea level rise.”

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Challenges

Recommendations

Need for effective channel to facilitate regular discussion about sea level rise

Develop institutional capacity to ensure continued and meaningful engagement practices

Need for integrating sea level rise management into local government’s daily workflow

Initiate public relations campaigns to emphasize the urgency of resiliency planning

Need for participation among civil society to facilitate the sea level rise planning process

Provide educational opportunities for different stakeholders

Figure S4-2. Challenges and Recommenda ons

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Moreover, as men oned before, the city is in need for more par cipa on among civil society to facilitate the sea level rise planning process. Thus, the city is recommended to ini ate PR campaigns to emphasize the urgency of resiliency planning and provide educa onal opportuni es for different stakeholders so that they could iden fy their priori es and voice their opinions regarding the reloca on programs.

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Newport is in need for both a more effec ve channel to facilitate regular discussions about sea level rise and integrate sea level rise management into the local government’s daily workflow. Therefore, it is recommended that the city develop ins tu onal capacity to ensure continued and meaningful engagement prac ces.

city’s policy-making process including Newport residents, business owners, property owners, advocates from research ins tutes and organiza ons, policy makers, and funders. They have all been considered in the ac ons proposed later.

Bu s

The diagram above provides a general view of the identified challenges regarding public outreach and stakeholder engagement and the three major recommenda ons proposed to tackle these challenges.

By saying stakeholders, various groups of people have been iden fied either influencing or par cipa ng in the Figure S4-3. Diagram of Stakeholders

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Recommendation 1: Develop institutional capacity to ensure meaningful and continued engagement practices Action 1: Establish Public Engagement Commission The City of Newport will establish a Public Engagement Commission (PEC, thereafter), similar to other commissions in the city, comprising of resident volunteers from various communi es, business associa ons or other organiza ons, who will be appointed by the city council.

The PEC will be in charge of coordina ng engagement with other key departments, such as Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency and Newport Recrea on Department, establishing goals, expecta ons, budgets and desired level of engagement, as well as collabora ng with corporate communica on teams to define key messages that need to be communicated throughout the engagement process.

in developing final solu ons. Moreover, PEC will hold workshops to enable the city to work with stakeholders to ensure that their concerns are reflected in the city’s decisions. Finally, the city will collaborate with research ins tutes and community leaders to collect diverse advice and explore new solu ons, by which the city could achieve a high level of public engagement.

Recommendation 2: Initiate public relations campaigns to emphasize the urgency of resiliency planning Action 1: Install signage to have people acknowledge SLR

The diagram below shows poten al desired levels of engagement. First of all, the city will provide spaces for public ideas and concerns and be available to respond to public comments. Some examples include 311 calls and social media pla orms. Secondly, PEC will seek different stakeholder feedback on specific issues, which, in this case, is sea level rise, and acknowledge their aspira ons Figure S4-4. signage indica ng sea level rise scenarios. Source: Marco Kaltofen on Twi er

Listen & Learn Provide space for public ideas and concerns

Respond to public comments

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Consult Seek stakeholders’ feedback on specific issues

Listen to and acknowledge concerns and aspira ons in developing final solu ons

Involve Work with stakeholders to refine specific issues

Ensure that their concerns and aspira ons are reflected in the city’ decisions

Collaborate Collaborate with stakeholders to develop content

Collect diverse advice to create solu ons and recommenda ons into the city’s decision

PEC will work with Waterfront Commission and Beach Commission to install signage to attract residents’ a en ons and remind them of sea level rise so that ci zens would realize the seriousness of this issue and the necessity to take ac ons.

Figure S4-6. Vietnam mural street program about SLR. Source: th.boell.org

Figure S4-5. Middle school students install signage on the waterfront in Ventura. Source: venturariver.org

Action 2: Encourage SLR-related art projects

Figure S4-7. Miami mural campaign (VR & Art). Source: vanalen.org

Moreover, PEC will collaborate with local ar sts to set up SLR-related projects to deliver messages to the public in a more crea ve way. One possible spot for a mural can be iden fied somewhere along the harbor walk and the mural can keep on changing, meaning that SLR can be shown in different ways each me by different ar sts.

Pictures on the right are two examples. One is the Vietnam Mural Street Program and the other is in Miami using both mural art and VR technology, which leads to the next possible ac on – taking advantage of new technologies to visualize SLR scenarios.

Figure S4-8. Climate change art illustrates SLR in Venice. Source: inhabitat.com

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Action 3: Take advantages of new technology to visualize SLR scenarios PEC is recommended to collaborate with Department of Informa on and Technology to launch technologyembedded projects. For example, San Francisco developed this Climate Access Look Ahead applica on (see Fig. S4-10) allowing people to see what certain streets will look like when they are flooded and express their opinions. Figure S4-11 shows a project done by students at Columbia University using virtual reality to visualize what Time Square would look like under water.

Thus, it is possible that the City of Newport could develop a similar idea, maybe visualizing Thames Street or other parts of the city under different sea level rise scenarios.

Figure S4-10. Climate Access Look Ahead applica on, SF. Source: apple.com

Figure S4-11. “Unmoored”, Time Square, New York City. Source: Columbia University

Action 4: Hold event-based educational activities to capture broader audience Figure S4-9. Climate discussions in Times Square. Source: Climate Central

PEC should work with the Tourism Department and local focus groups to program cultural-related events. They can collaborate with exis ng fes vals such as Wickford Art Fes val and Jazz Fes val to incorporate the idea of SLR awareness or maybe hold SLR-related conferences to capture a broader range of audience from outside of Newport or even outside of Rhode Island and make Newport a burgeoning hub to incubate more discussions around sea level rise. Such conferences could be held in the historical mansions.

Figure S4-12. Fish parade. Source: Rebuilt by Design

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Recommendation 3: Provide Educational initiatives for different stakeholders A er the public becoming more familiar with sea level rise and feel the urgency of incorpora ng resiliency planning into Newport’s future development, the city should move on to the next level of providing in-depth educa onal access for different stakeholders, which would help equip them with the knowledge of the reloca on plan and other adapta on strategies.

Figure S4-14. A screen shot from MyCoast.

Action 1: Review existing educational modules, if necessary First of all, it is recommended for the City of Newport to collaborate with research ins tutes such as CRMC and CRC to review exis ng educa onal modules such as the STORMTOOLs and local hazard mi ga on plan and make adjustments if necessary, because sea level rise is constantly being studied and things might change over me.

Figure S4-15. STORMTOOLS

Action 2: Gather inputs from experts, in the field of SLR management Secondly, PEC will facilitate thinktank mee ngs among experts and professionals in the field of SLR management and provide the opportunity for them to collaborate with each other and come up with new adapta on strategies.

Figure S4-13. Philadelphia Health & Environment Ethnography Lab

The picture on the right shows an example of CUSP partner workshop in Philadelphia where different organiza ons including Clean Air Council and Na onal Nursing Centers Consor um get to sit together discussing how climate change will impact Philadelphia and have some hands-on experience on green storm water management.

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Action 3: Prioritize educating community leaders & city officials As the thinktank mee ngs going on, the city will priori ze educa ng community leaders and city officials so that they can learn about the poten al impacts of SLR, iden fy community’s priori es, and ac ons the community will take to reduce risks and increase resilience.

Moreover, the city will seek feedback from community leaders to make necessary amendments to the retreat programs to be er address each community’s need.

Newport community leaders and city officials will learn from Boston’s experience and act early. They will meet once or twice a year to get updated informa on and bring up opinions and comments they gathered from their communi es.

Department of Planning and Economic Development and Newport Development Authority to hold interac ve community mee ngs, aiming to help residents and business owners assess their poten al property loss and strengthen their proper es to ameliorate poten al effects of SLR. FEMA’s Community Ra ng System also incen vizes communi es to reduce their exposure to flooding by providing discounts on their flood insurance.

The evacua on route, buy-out program, reloca on op ons, floa ng dock program, and other elements of the retreat plan will also be introduced and the city should encourage business owners to measure and report any SLR-related financial risks and help them build a more resilient business structure to be er adapt to SLR

Action 4: Hold interactive community meetings for residents and business owners The next ac on targets residents and business owners.

PEC will work with other city departments like the

Figure S4-17. Interac ve community mee ngs. Source: ARG Architects

Case Study: Climate Ready Boston One example is Boston tackling Hurricane Sandy. The city leaders determined to take ac ons in advance to get prepared, which reduced the city’s financial loss significantly, when comparing to New York City and New Jersey. A er the hurricane, the mayor and a steering commi ee worked with a broad coali on of ci zens to launch an ini a ve called Climate Ready Boston to update climate projec ons, assess where the city is vulnerable to climate change, and lay out a plan to make the city more resilient.

Figure S4-16. Climate Ready Boston Network

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Action 5: Collaborate with local educational institutions to target younger generations Moreover, PEC will collaborate with Newport Family and Child Opportunity Zone and local educa onal ins tu ons such as Frank E. Thompson Middle School to provide hands-on learning opportuni es on storm events and SLR for the younger genera on, not only because they are the future decision makers but also they can bring these informa on back home so the adults could also be educated. One example would be middle students helped residents recognize and reduce flood risk in their coastal Georgia ci es a er Hurricane Ma hew. Their eďŹ&#x20AC;orts also earned the community credits to lower their costs for flood insurance. Such school programs could be held perhaps four mes a year, on an on-going basis.

Action 6: Provide door-to-door services for residents with low mobility Another ac on will provide door-to-door services for residents with low mobility who are not very able to a end the regular community mee ngs and workshops.

PEC could work with Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC) Services in Newport and Department of Health to promote more projects targe ng these demographic groups in the long run.

Figure S4-18. Middle school children learning. Source: Na onal center for science educa on

Figure S4-19. Door to door services for the elderly.

Figure S4-20. Educa ng the future genera ons.

Figure S4-21. Providing detailed informa on in person.

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Summary

Finance Resources

The diagram on the right summarizes the all the ac ons men oned above and the corresponding ini ators, most of which would be PEC, and possible coordinators to help facilitate the implementa on process.

Some funding sources have been iden fied as possible financing vehicles, including Basic Human Needs Grants, Community Grants, Expansion Arts Grants, and Newport County Fund Grants from Rhode Island Founda on.

Challenges

Recommendations

Need for effective channel to facilitate regular discussion about sea level rise

Develop institutional capacity to ensure continued and meaningful engagement practices

Need for integrating sea level rise management into local government’s daily workflow

Actions

Establish Public Engagement Commission

Install signages Encourage SLR-related art projects Take advantages of new technology Hold event-based educational activities

Initiate public relations campaigns to emphasize the urgency of resiliency planning

Review existing educational modules Gather inputs from experts Prioritize educating community leaders Need for participation among civil society to facilitate the sea level rise planning process

Provide educational opportunities for different stakeholders

Time frame In terms of the me frame of the proposed awareness and educa onal recommenda ons and ac ons, four implementation stages have been identified with corresponding trigger points.

The first stage is focused on institutional capacity development (Recommendation 1). Through 2020, the City of Newport is suggested to primarily work on establishing the Public Engagement Commission, which will lay a strong founda on for all the subsequent ac ons.

The second stage starts when the commission is fully developed, with the required team and mandate. During this stage, the main goal would be to establish a strong public relations campaign; which includes signage

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Hold interactive community meetings Collaborate with local educational institutions Provide door-to-door services for residents with low mobility

installment, art and technology projects, sea level rise related events, educa onal modules review and thinktank mee ngs should be ini ated.

The third stage focuses on gathering community leaders and city officials together and help them iden fy their community’s priori es while the last stage, which shall be triggered no later than 2- sea level rise hit the harbor, involves the community mee ngs, school programs, and door-to-door services, aiming to provide assistance for the residents to get them prepared for the coming reloca on process.

Time frame Gather community leaders and city officials together and help them identify community’s priority

Establish the Public Engagement Commision and Define Mandate

2020

2ft SLR

Initiate 3 actions in Recommendation 2

Trigger all remaining 5 educational modules in Recommendation 3

Initiators and Collaborators Initiated by

Collaborators

Install Signages

PEC

Beach Commission, Waterfront Commission, Bowen's Wharf Association, Newport School Department

Encourage SLR-related art projects

PEC

Local artists, Beach Commission, Waterfront Commission, Bowen's Wharf Association, Newport School Department

Take advantages of new technology

PEC

Department Information & Technology, Harbor Master Office

Actions

Hold event-based educational activities

CRMC, CRC

Review existing educational modules

CRMC, CRC

Gather inputs from experts

PEC

Prioritize edcucating community leaders and city officials

CRMC, CRC, PEC

Department of Planning & Economic Development, Energy and Environment Commission, FEMA

Hold interactive community meetings for residents and business owners

CRMC, CRC, PEC

FEMA, Department of Planning and Economic Development, Newport Redevelopment Authority*

Newport Tourism Departnment, Local Focus Groups

Experts and Professionals in the field of SLR management

Collaborate with local educational institutions

PEC

Newport Family and Child Opportunity Zone (NFCOZ), Newport School Department, EBCAP

Provide door-to-door service for residents with low mobility

PEC

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Departnment of Health, EBCAP

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Chapter 7.

Steering towards a Resilient Harbor

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Conclusion The four strategies and their respec ve recommendaons all complement each other to achieve the overall Newport Harbor 2050 Vision.

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References

Endnotes for Strategy 1 1 h ps://www.sanantonio.gov/Portals/0/Files/NHSD/TIF/Agreements/T34-StJohnsSquare-CCHIP.pdf 2 h ps://home.howstuffworks.com/real-estate/moving- ps/

Endnotes for Chapters 1 to 5

house-moving2.htm

1 City of Newport, 2017, Newport Comprehensive Land Use Plan. h p://www.planning.ri.gov/documents/comp/2017/NewportCompPlan2017.pdf 2 Na onal Geographic. Earth Science, Climatology. h ps://www. na onalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/climate-change/educator/ 3 NOAA. Storm surge overview. h ps://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/ 4 Chirs na Nunez. Na onal Geographic. Sea level rise, explained. h ps://www.na onalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/ sea-level-rise/ 5 WCVA. Oct, 2018. IPCC New report – Impacts of global warming of 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels. h ps://www.wcva.org.uk/ about-us/news/2018/10/ipcc-new-report-–-impacts-of-globalwarming-of-15°c-above-pre-industrial-levels 6 City of Newport Rhode Island, 2016, Natural Hazard Mi ga on Plan h p://engagenewport.com/floodprotec on/wp-content/ uploads/2017/06/Newport_Hazard-Mi ga on-Plan_ApprovedPrint.pdf 7 U.S. Census data, 2017, 5-year American Community Survey 8 Belmore, R., 2019, Newport named Age-Friendly Community ,h ps://whatsupnewp.com/2019/09/newport-named-age-friendly-community/ 9 OnTheMap,2019, onthemap.org 10 City of Newport, 2019, Economy h ps://www.cityofnewport. com/visi ng-newport/around-the-city/economy 11 Tourism Economy, 2019, Economic Impact of Tourism in Newport h ps://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/upload/ v1/clients/newportri/2018_Economic_Impact_2018_9ab62c13709f-4662-ad87-e0ec2a62a17a.pdf 12 Tourism Economy, 2019, Economic Impact of Tourism in Newport h ps://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/upload/ v1/clients/rhodeisland/RI_Visitor_Economic_Impact_2017_state_ results_client_002__d9158ebb-7553-4670-bffe-1aa8ae2d7729.pdf 13 First Street Founda on, 2019, State by State Analysis: Property Value Loss from Sea Level Rise h ps://firststreet.org/press/property-value-loss-from-sea-level-rise-state-by-state-analysis/

Endnotes for Strategy 2 1 America’s Cup Charters, 2019, h p://www.americascupcharters. com/fleet/l2-us-l7-weatherly 2 Feargus O’Sullivan, Here Comes Amsterdam’s Man-Made Island for Sustainable, Affordable Housing ,2018, h ps://www.citylab. com/environment/2018/08/amsterdam-ijmeer-ijburg-centrumeiland-ar ficial-islands/567383/ 3 Sean Flynn, 2019, ‘Residents rally at Newport City Hall against proposed hotel at Waites Wharf’ Newportri.com, h ps://www.newportri.com/news/20190826/ residents-rally-at-newport-city-hall-against-proposed-hotel-atwaites-wharf 4 Russell Yeager, 2015, Downtown Housing: How City Incen ves Change the Game, h ps://bigreddog.com/downtown-housing-howcity-incen ve-change-the-game/ 5 Feargus O’Sullivan, Here Comes Amsterdam’s Man-Made Island for Sustainable, Affordable Housing ,2018, h ps://www.citylab. com/environment/2018/08/amsterdam-ijmeer-ijburg-centrumeiland-ar ficial-islands/567383/ 6 The Preserva on Society of Newport Mansions Community Impact Study 7 Rhode Island Innovates: A Compe

ve Strategy for the Ocean

State, p. 8 8 More , Enrico. The New Geography of Jobs, 2013 9 h p://uploads.oneregionforward.org/content/uploads/2013/06/ Buffalo-Billion-Investment-Development-Plan.pdf 10 h ps://www.providenceri.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/ Providence-Cranston-LocalWorkforcePlan.pdf 11 h p://stac.ri.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/innovate-rifund-internship-grant-program-guidelines.pdf 12 h p://www.dlt.ri.gov/bwc/taxcredits.htm 13 h ps://businessfacili es.com/2019/12/pawtucket-ri-launches-400m-economic-development-project/

14 Newport GIS Data, retrieved from RIGIS h ps://assets.floodiq. com/2019/01/a22bd29b007a783c7d3fa7f5c4531c9a-ne-homevalue-loss-slr.pdf 15 Redfin.com 16 Sean Flynn, 2019, ‘Residents rally at Newport City Hall against proposed hotel at Waites Wharf’

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Endnotes for Strategy 4 1 Tina Barisky, 2015, ’A public engagement toolkit for sea level rise’

Photo Credits Page 4: newporthistory.org Page 8: Rhode Island Sea Grant, h ps://seagrant.gso.uri. edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/9662890103_46d519b62e_k-1024x678.jpg Page 12: Brian Mcguirk on Flickr Page 30: marinas.com Page 58: marinas.com Page 138: marinas.com

All other photos by authors.

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