Green Infrastructure is a Resiliency Investment that Pays Dividends: “New York City can serve as a model for American coastal cities looking for ways to mitigate the effects of climate change,” says Carter Strickland, New York state director of The Trust for Public Land

Note to Reader:

Carter Strickland is recognized as a national leader in sustainability and environmental policy, with extensive regulatory, financial, stakeholder and media experience. He has extensive operational experience in a challenging urban and media environment, and a proven ability to create and execute long-term sustainability strategy, operational efficiency initiatives, and organizational restructuring plans.

Below is his opinion piece on a partnership to build up to 40 new school playgrounds that use innovative design elements to capture stormwater.

As commissioner for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, (2011-2014) and deputy commissioner for sustainability (2010-2011), Carter led several strategic initiatives of the largest integrated municipal water utility in the United States.

As part of Mayor Bloomberg’s sustainability team, Carter created and implemented integrated approaches to infrastructure, water quality, air quality, climate change, land use, ecological restoration and energy issues.

Photo Credit: The Public Trust for Land

Innovative parks help the city withstand severe weather

“Caught between coastal flooding and rain-based flooding, innovative cities around the world are learning to work with nature as much as possible. New York City is using new parks to help make our city more resilient, but it will take a long-term commitment to these innovative practices to ensure that our city is prepared for the challenges caused by climate change,” wrote Carter Strickland in an online opinion piece published by Crain’s New York Business in June 2018.

“(Hurricane) Sandy was our wakeup call for how climate change will have significant and widespread affects across one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas.

“Several months after Sandy, New York City and The Trust for Public Land announced a partnership to build up to 40 new school playgrounds that use innovative design elements to capture stormwater.

“So far, 17 of these playgrounds have been completed, with another 10 in the pipeline.”

To Learn More:

To read the complete opinion piece by Carter Strickland, download a copy of For better resiliency, don’t just try to defeat nature—work with it

He was the architect of the $2.4 billion NYC Green Infrastructure Plan and the Clean Heat Plan.