The American Flood Coalition-Phoebus Partnership Vision Booklet for Flood Resilience
The Phoebus Waterfront Park Vision Booklet offers a long-term vision to enhance the Phoebus neighborhood’s only waterfront public park as a community destination and a model for environmental restoration and education. Developed as a result of a public engagement process and a partnership between the American Flood Coalition and the Phoebus Partnership, with funding from the Kresge Foundation, the vision booklet seeks to provide a vision plan for the future use of the park, including its living shoreline and other elements.
Community engagement throughout the project was imperative and we drew upon strong local hands-on participation via two volunteer workshops. The first of two workshops was held in May 2021 at the Phoebus Waterfront Park. The all-day weekend event allowed visitors to stop by at their convenience, fill out surveys, and discuss future improvements for the park. The second workshop was held in November 2021, and focused on two objectives: 1) gather additional community input; and 2) make physical improvements to the living shoreline. During the second workshop, volunteers installed a “buffer area” of new plants along the park’s existing living shoreline. These new plants can reduce coastal flooding by absorbing water and stabilizing the shoreline with their root systems.
Because of the community’s involvement, influence and sense of ownership throughout the project, the City of Hampton also launched its first-ever adopt-a-spot program for flood resilience, which allowed the Phoebus Partnership to officially “adopt” the Phoebus Waterfront Park and formalized opportunities for members of the community to be stewards of the park! For more information, click here to access the Phoebus Waterfront Park Vision Booklet.
The Phoebus Partnership's ongoing efforts to improve the Phoebus Waterfront Park would not have been possible without the support of countless local partners including the James River Association, Pembroke Stone Mart, City of Hampton and of course, the greater Phoebus Neighborhood!
