Super Storm Sandy

It’s been five years since Super Storm Sandy slammed the East Coast. The financial, human and environmental costs were enormous. Scientists agree a warming planet will make such extreme weather a larger part of the future of New Jersey and coastal cities around the world. This uncertain future leads us to some important questions. How can we best deal with storm surges and coastal inundation? How do we build resiliency into our urban coastal communities and structures while protecting the natural environment? How should we reimagine regulations regarding land use and environmental protection? In Sandy’s aftermath, environmental scientists, social scientists, economists, private consultants and government officials worked to answer such questions, compiling massive amounts of data, writing papers, and holding hearings. This conference, organized by the Rutgers University Meadowlands Environment Research Institute in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, brings together a community of scholars, researchers, urban planners, and policy-makers to share ideas and findings around the environmental, social and design challenges facing East Coast estuaries and bays under more frequent extreme weather events.