A Dual‑Purpose Playground
New York City is testing a novel approach to storm‑water management by converting two derelict basketball courts in Queens into below‑grade “Water Squares.” Each structure can temporarily hold up to 330,000 gallons of rainwater, filtering it through bio‑retention basins before slowly releasing it back into the ground.
When the skies clear, the same spaces revert to their original function, hosting basketball games, movie nights, farmers markets and other neighborhood events. This dual use not only maximizes limited urban land but also keeps the facilities actively engaged with the community year‑round.
The initiative forms part of a $43 million resilience program championed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, aimed at protecting Lower Manhattan and other vulnerable districts from increasingly frequent flash floods. By integrating climate‑adaptive infrastructure into everyday public spaces, the city hopes to build broader public support for future adaptation measures in historically underserved neighborhoods.
Designers behind the project — Grain Collective, Hazen and Sawyer, and Marc Wouters Studios — drew inspiration from similar public‑space experiments in Copenhagen and Rotterdam. Their collaboration blends engineering rigor with creative urban planning, turning a functional flood‑control system into a vibrant civic asset.
Beyond flood mitigation, the Water Squares act as a climate‑infrastructure buffer that intercepts storm‑water overflow from the city’s aging sewer network, reducing the likelihood of street flooding during heavy rain events. The stored water is gradually re‑absorbed, easing pressure on municipal drainage while preserving green space for residents.