Center for Resilient Design

A special aspect of our efforts to explore how communities could become more resilient in the face of future events has been the use of architectural design studios at NJIT to research, analyze and develop innovative design strategies for increasing resilience in specific New Jersey communities. Such studios provide unique platforms for bringing communities together around the topic of resilience and then help them define and envision alternate future conditions for their specific circumstances. By creating highly visual outputs that community stakeholders can understand and react to, design studios can stimulate community enthusiasm in ways that other types of engagement may not and can be strong motivators for action going forward.   

The Center for Resilient Design is currently conducting such a studio to improve resilience in Greenwich Township on the Delaware River. Students from NJIT's College of Architecture and Design are exploring a range of planning approaches and design concepts to enhance the township’s resistance to flooding and improve economic conditions through a range of ecotourism strategies. The Greenwich community has been actively engaged with the project and, while the student concepts are not fully developed, they do present a range of innovative, thought-provoking resilience/economic revitalization strategies for residents to consider.