MANAGED RETREAT
Managed retreat has been in practice for decades in various forms but in recent years the catalyst has been changes in our climate. ESF’s Fall 2023 Studio IV worked with the N.Y.S. Department of State to research, analyze, and produce visualizations of what private property could look like after a state land buyout.
The work shown here proposes a constructed wetland complex within a larger scope of a residential and agricultural village along the eastern shores of Lake Ontario, NY. The shorelines of this lake have been experiencing an increase in heavy flooding and erosion due to seiche action and increased precipitation. For opportunities for public land use post-retreat, I proposed a dark sky reserve, the construction of large bat houses to provide habitat for the endangered Little Brown Bat, Lyotis lucifugus, the use of a native, historically significant willow species to create willow sculptures and increase tourism, and a wetland complex expansion for forebay overflows.
Note: This site was selected by students only as an example for research and educational purposes. Students have no knowledge of any plans for managed retreat in this area. All work shown here is my own.
Methods: Photoshop, Illustrator, ArcGIS Pro, and archival research
Fall 2023
Jesse Horning 