Researcher(s)
- Kayla Wilen, Landscape Architecture, University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Zachery Hammaker, Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware
Abstract
The Route 9 Community Development Corporation (CDC) in New Castle County, Delaware, encompasses twelve historically disenfranchised communities facing cumulative environmental, infrastructural, economic, and social challenges. Located between two major highways and adjacent to industrial development, the area has experienced decades of disinvestment, resulting in degraded stormwater infrastructure, limited public space, and elevated health risks from air and water pollution. These issues are now compounded by climate change impacts such as altered wind patterns and increased storm intensity. In response, the Coastal Resiliency Design Studio (CRDS), an interdisciplinary team of undergraduate students, faculty, and professional partners, has initiated a research-based community resilience planning effort.
Building on a greening framework developed by CRDS in Winter 2025 and earlier external planning studies that were not advanced to the implementation stage, in part due to their limited scope, CRDS is applying a holistic design process to develop solutions with the CDC that target four key improvement areas: Greening, Transportation, Flooding, and Community. Methods include GIS mapping and field-based site analysis, community engagement through public charrettes and surveys, and the creation of comprehensive design proposals with diagrammatic and rendered graphics, presentation materials, and a finalized booklet. This approach integrates climate adaptation, cultural preservation, and smart growth principles to produce a revitalization plan that addresses both immediate needs and long-term resilience goals.
The project is supported by Delaware Sea Grant and aligned with regional funding pathways. Anticipated outcomes include a community-informed resilience framework, a series of implementable design strategies, and increased capacity for the CDC to pursue state and federal funding. This research contributes to the evolving field of climate-resilient planning by demonstrating how academic studios can support frontline communities through equitable, place-based design processes rooted in local knowledge and long-term adaptation goals.