Playground Power: Hoboken's Resiliency Park

What if a playground could protect an entire city from flooding? In this episode of Good News from Planet Earth, host Serge De Marre takes us to Hoboken, New Jersey, where ResilienCity Park proves that infrastructure can be both practical and joyful.

Built on a former industrial site and opened in 2023, ResilienCity Park is now the largest resiliency park in New Jersey. On the surface, it looks like a typical community playground with slides, swings, sports courts, and water play areas. But underneath lies a hidden climate solution: one million gallons of stormwater storage, supported by rain gardens, permeable surfaces, and green infrastructure that manage another million gallons.

When storms like Tropical Storm Ophelia hit, the park’s design safely channels millions of gallons of rainwater away from Hoboken’s streets, preventing major flooding while staying ready for families to return the next day. It is a model of how cities can turn everyday spaces into powerful tools for resilience.

Beyond flood control, the park offers shade, cooling, and biodiversity benefits while teaching visitors about sustainability through direct experience. Children play on the same structures that help capture and store water, families see how green infrastructure works in action, and the city as a whole gains protection from climate risks.

Hoboken has already launched other resiliency parks, with more on the way, and cities like Chicago are adopting similar approaches. Together, these projects show how playful, people-centered design can help communities adapt to climate change.

If you are looking for good news about smart cities, sustainable design, and creative climate solutions, this episode will leave you inspired by the idea that resilience can also be fun.

Narrated by Serge De Marre from Voiceover for the Planet.

Research and Further Reading:

Nickname & geography (“Mile Square City,” filled-in marshland)

• Hoboken’s nickname and land history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoboken,_New_Jersey
  
  
  

Hurricane Sandy flooding (half city flooded, transportation collapsed)

• Sandy impacts on Hoboken: https://www.nj.com/hudson/2012/11/hoboken_hit_hard_by_sandy.html
  
  
  
• FEMA Sandy after-action: https://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/sandy_fema_after_action_report.pdf
  
  
  

Opening date (June 2023) & largest resiliency park in NJ

• City press release: https://www.hobokennj.gov/news/city-of-hoboken-opens-new-jerseys-largest-resiliency-park
  
  
  

Five acres, amenities, and stormwater capacity (1 million gallons below, 1 million via green infrastructure)

• Local Infrastructure Hub case story: https://localinfrastructure.org/resources/resiliencity-park-case-story-hoboken-nj/
  
  
  
• 6sqft coverage: https://www.6sqft.com/new-jerseys-largest-resiliency-park-can-hold-up-to-2-million-gallons-of-stormwater/
  
  
  

Tropical Storm Ophelia, Sept 2023 (17 million gallons managed)

• City update on flood mit

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