The design unfolds in three phases.

Phase One retrofits Belt Parkway—formerly a dividing barrier between neighborhood and water—by elevating a new housing and transit spine above it. Phase Two builds on this looped structure with additional housing, light rail, and water-based transit. Phase Three activates the edge with a hotel and commercial district that brings public life to the waterfront, while promoting awareness of long-term coastal sustainability.

Each phase responds to projected 100-year flood levels in Canarsie for 2025, 2050, 2100, and 2500, based on FEMA data. The structure grows vertically with time, integrating green roofs, terraces, and elevated walkways.

Living with water, not against it

Rather than fighting the sea with singular barriers, City on the Loop imagines infrastructure as a cohabitation system—one that evolves with its environment. Wetland buffers, elevated gardens, and public platforms allow natural and urban systems to coexist. The loop is not a line of defense, but a living edge: flexible, continuous, and community-oriented.

"We wanted to treat sea-level rise not just as a threat, but as a prompt to reimagine how we live, move, and relate to the coast," said Ruxuan Zheng. "Architecture can become a dynamic mediator between land, water, and people.”

Toward a future shoreline

Though unbuilt, the project opens new ways of thinking about the role of architecture in climate futures. It demonstrates how speculative design can address deeply practical issues—such as housing, transportation, and environmental risk—while also reshaping the cultural and spatial identity of coastal cities.

City on the Loop is not a singular solution, but a replicable concept: a system that could continue to grow along the Belt Parkway, forming a new shoreline and city edge for New York and beyond.