eDesign Dynamics

eDD's founder, Franco Montalto, of Drexlel University, was one of the experts consulted for this comprehensive multimedia piece from the The New York Times on the future of the city in the face of coming climate-change-fueled storms.

The Disaster to Come: New York’s Next Superstorm Heavy rain would make a hurricane catastrophic. See the neighborhoods that could face the worst flooding.

Here's another recent article by the NYTimes in which our work was featured: "New York Is Going to Flood. Here’s What the City Can Do to Survive." EDD designed the rain gardens in Gowanus, Brooklyn, that absorb and redirect water away from the sewage system. (Photo by Lucía Vázquez for The New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/10/15/nyregion/new-york-climate-flooding-solutions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.vE8.wlJ8.6v5Mm_bFQFo2&smid=url-share

The Times just published a piece on , the transformation of an abandoned industrial site into an ecological waterfront park in Norwalk, Connecticut. Check out the beautiful photos by Iwan Baan! EDD is leading the Natural Resources design for the site, focusing on preservation, enhancement, and restoration of the saltmarsh, terrestrial forests, and shoreline habitats.

Is Manresa Wilds the Future of Public Parks? A shuttered plant is reimagined as Manresa Wilds, an example of an old facility repurposed to solve a new century’s problems.

Check out this exclusive piece in Canada’s “The Globe and Mail” (the country's newspaper of record) on the next stage in the urban development of Toronto’s old Downsview Airport lands into a new district called YZD, "converting the remnants of aviation into a framework for civic life.” American landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc (MVVA) have just been named to lead the next stage of the transformation. eDesignDynamics will be supporting MVVA by organizing sustainability guidelines for future development, focused on stormwater management and urban ecology.

Downsview redevelopment setting a course for new urban life American landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates will lead the next stage of the project

EDD IN THE NEWS: Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced the groundbreaking for the buildout of major elements of Sojourner Truth State Park (STSP) in Ulster County, including a new swimming facility and bathhouse pavilion.

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/unplug-and-play-governor-hochul-announces-groundbreaking-swimming-facility-and-additional-new

eDesignDynamic's scope in STSP included restoration planting throughout the site. Specifically in this region of the park, EDD designed native restoration planting zones which surround the 'lake beachfront', including hardy, regional species which can adapt to the wide range of environmental conditions and atypical soils of the quarry site. EDD developed novel planting typologies to allow for tree and groundcover material to successfully establish in-situ within the quarry rock face and steep slopes of the site.

EDD also completed restoration designs which will be constructed in a future phase: Adjacent to the swimming pavilion, EDD developed plans to enhance and restore wetlands just south of Quarry Lake (now known as Lake Sophia). These wetlands will employ a 'hummocks' planting method to create microtopography which allows the restored wetland to adapt to varied hydrology conditions between wet and dry seasons. The design intent is to develop a closed-canopy system to minimize the threat of non-native and invasive plants which tend to thrive in disturbed, post-industrial landscapes like Sojourner Truth State Park.

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/unplug-and-play-governor-hochul-announces-groundbreaking-swimming-facility-and-additional-new

Unplug and Play: Governor Hochul Announces Groundbreaking for Swimming Facility and Additional New Developments at Sojourner Truth State Park Governor Hochul announced the groundbreaking for the buildout of major elements of Sojourner Truth State Park in Ulster County, including a new swimming facility and bathhouse pavilion.

Proud to be a part of the team transforming legacy fossil fuel infrastructure into vibrant social infrastructure! https://www.manresawilds.org/

Let’s bring Manresa Wilds to life. 🌿 At yesterday’s Community Engagement Event & Celebration, we revealed the park’s vision and plan, and introduced its identity as Manresa Wilds. Drawing inspiration from ancient symbols, local wildlife, and the natural forms of the Sound, the Manresa Wilds glyphs create a living language for the park. Discover more at manresawilds.org. --- #ManresaWilds #NorwalkCT #203local #NorwalkNews #NorwalkIslands #VisitNorwalk #AdaptiveReuse #NorwalkParks #ExploreNorwalk #FairfieldCountylocal #FairfieldCounty #CTNews #SONO #CTCoast #ConnecticutOutdoors #CTParks #ExploreFairfieldCounty #LongIslandSound #ExploretheSound #CTCommunity #NorwalkCommunity

EDD’s founder and Drexel University professor, Franco Montalto, recently co-authored — with Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Mimi Sheller — the article "Strengthening Social Infrastructure for Climate Resilience” for the digital magazine, The Nature of Cities. In their essay, they ask:

Who do you call when the floodwaters rise?

Who checks in when the power goes out?

It’s not just about the infrastructure you can see, such as roads, pipes, and grids. It’s about the invisible networks of care, trust, and knowledge that hold communities together.

Across the Caribbean and the U.S. Northeast, neighbors are organizing, students are building, and resilience is growing — not in isolation, but in solidarity.

Even as federal support fades, social infrastructure is already doing the work. That’s where real resilience begins.

Dive into the full essay at the link below.

Strengthening Social Infrastructure for Climate Resilience – The Nature of Cities Dr. Montalto is a Professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at Drexel University (Philadelphia, USA) and the Founder and President of eDesign Dynamics LLC (New York, NY).

Celebrate biodiversity!