METHODOLOGY

Rebuild by Design analyzed 2,385 City and State-Owned Parks from TPL’s database to identify parks on or near current and future stormwater and storm surge flood zones. A 100-foot buffer was applied to show how flooding in or near parks can impact nearby neighborhoods and infrastructure.

DATA SETS

• Trust for Public Land's ParkServe Dataset: Provides data on city and state-owned parks across U.S. cities, highlighting park access and amenities to identify areas needing more recreational spaces.
• 2020 Storm Surge Flood Zones: Areas with a 1% annual risk of storm surge flooding as of 2020, within the 100-year floodplain.
• 2020 Stormwater Flood Zones (Limited): Current areas at risk of flooding from heavy rainfalls and poor urban drainage, assessed in 2020.
• 2050 Storm Surge Flood Zones: Future predictions of areas within the 100-year floodplain at risk of storm surge flooding by 2050.
• 2050 Stormwater Flood Zones (Moderate): Predictions of areas at risk of moderate stormwater flooding by 2050.
• 2100 Storm Surge Flood Zones: Projections for storm surge flooding in 2100, using climate change data from the NYC Panel on Climate Change.
• 2080 Stormwater Flood Zones (Extreme): Forecasts of areas likely to experience severe stormwater flooding in 2080.
• 2020 Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI) from DOHMH: Highlights neighborhoods at greater risk of heat-related illness or death due to factors like air conditioning access and surface temperatures.
• 2022 Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) from CDC: The SVI uses 15 indicators (e.g., income, housing, and language barriers) to measure a community's ability to prepare for and recover from disasters.