The Natural Infrastructure Lab works with Virginia’s Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission on strategies for creating healthy coastal ecosystems
The Natural Infrastructure Lab (NIL), housed at the UVA School of Architecture, announces a new project with the Commonwealth’s Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission, which is comprised of six counties — Essex, Gloucester, King and Queen, King William, Mathews, and Middlesex, along with three towns — Tappahannock, Urbana, and West Point. This rural, low-laying region of Virginia is the second of three large peninsulas on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay and includes thousands of acres of wetlands, forests, pastures, rivers, streams, and bays. It also has approximately 1,000 miles of shoreline, most of which is privately-owned. Farming, fishing, and forestry are integral to the livelihoods of Middle Peninsula’s estimated 93,000 residents (U.S. 2020 Census), while small businesses are the backbone of the economy with 93% of all employers having fewer than 20 employees (2024 Middle Peninsula Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy). The region, which has a rich history and strong cultural traditions that are deeply tied to the water, also faces economic challenges not unusual for rural coastal communities — with a need for increased resources to restore and protect vital wetlands.
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The NIL team, including Brian Davis (director), Alex Heald (research assistant, MLA ’26), Adrian Robins (research specialist), and Ruby Zielinski (project manager), will study and develop strategies for flooding specifically for the Captain Sinclair’s Recreational Area in Gloucester County. Twelve years ago, the Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority (MP-PAA) was gifted nearly 97 acres of waterfront property on the Severn River. This site is a coastal ecosystem that includes dense forest, tidal and non-tidal wetlands, with minimal buildings. Aligned with MP-PAA’s larger mission of opening coastal nature sites in the region to all people and to provide access for recreational activities, the area is publicly accessible. Current and future uses for the site include veteran’s job training and housing, boat storage and water access for a local high school crew team.
While this region has experienced its share of coastal flooding from storms, tidal flooding is a regular occurrence in the Middle Peninsula because of its gently sloping, low elevation uplands and wetlands immediately adjacent to tidal waters. Tidal flooding, also known as “sunny day” or nuisance flooding, occurs during exceptionally high tide events, such as at full and new moons — even when there is no rain or storm activity. Given the regularity and frequency of this type of flooding, averaging once a month, the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission is seeking strategies from prevention to reduction.
“Everyone in the flood plain is threatened. It’s either slowly threatened or threatened every single day,” said Lewie Lawrence, Executive Director of the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission for 13 News Now. “There are solutions. Doing nothing is not an option.”
The research team aims to help establish new possibilities for citizens of the Middle Peninsula to protect their rural lands and homes from the impacts of tidal flooding. They will build on their ongoing research experience in developing concepts using dredged sediment to create landforms to reduce flooding and erosion. With the planning commission, they will design and test “sunny day” flood berms that can be integrated into the surrounding landscape, extending the life and current use of the area. The berms will also help to create the conditions for the longer-term health of this coastal ecosystem in response to sea level rises. Working hand in hand with the local planning commission, the project’s goal is to bring this research to residents of nearby counties by effectively demonstrating how this, and similar nature-based approaches, can be beneficial to protecting individual homes and property, while holistically contributing to the resiliency of the region.
