How can we design better ways to live with NYC's water?

In 2026, Rising Tide Effect's vision for a "Water Literacy Playbook" was selected as one of five winners by Design Trust for Public Space. Since then founder Kaitlin Krause has been working closely with the Design Trust team to refine the playbook and bring the idea to fruition. This is connected to Rising Tide's overarching public education campaign "Water Wise".

"The Design Trust for Public Space’s ‘Water: Designing an Equitable Water Future for NYC’ RFP invited New Yorkers to submit new public space project ideas, aiming to incubate solutions to the pressures exerted on New York by too much or too little water, and connecting New Yorkers with the cultural vibrancy and memory inherent in our waterways. We selected five projects to participate in a funded and guided 2026 incubator, developing their ideas into tangible public realm solutions and resources. This series documents how the Water cohort's projects are taking shape."

"Upgraded and clearer signage at the waterfronts, wayfinding, raised subway platforms, environmental markers, public art, and climate-responsive interventions are all strategies discussed to create a comprehensive “Water Literacy Playbook” for the city to implement. Currently the project is researching how New Yorkers encounter water information and mapping opportunities across transit, streets, neighborhoods, and waterfronts, asking, 'how can New York City itself become a tool for understanding and connecting to water?'"

Keep up to date with the project by signing up for our newsletter, and read the full story here: https://www.designtrust.org/news/public-space-projects-guiding-nycs-water-future/

Rendering of what a Water Wise NYC educational poster could look like on the subway.