Building for the future

Academics People and Community

By Janette Neuwahl Tannen [email protected] 11-03-2025

A team of students and faculty and staff members from across the University of Miami are working with the Bahamian government to help design affordable, resilient housing and a storm-ready community center on the island of Grand Bahama, which is home to Freeport, the nation's second largest city.

The effort comes in response to the widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian, a massive 2019 storm that hit the northern Bahamas as a Category 5 storm and stalled over the islands for more than 24 hours. It was the strongest hurricane to hit the island nation and devastated Grand Bahama, as well as the adjacent Abacos Islands, taking the lives of an estimated 300 people and destroying property and infrastructure across the nation.

Some of this work could also be applied to areas of Jamaica and other Caribbean island communities that are now beginning the long process of recovering from the devastating damage caused by Hurricane Melissa-which struck Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane on Oct. 28, and continued its destructive path through other island nations.

After Dorian hit the Bahamas, physicians from the Global Institute for Community Health and Development at the Miller School of Medicine responded to treat wounded residents and relieve Bahamian physicians from the onslaught of patients. However, rehabilitation efforts across the northern Bahamas paused just months later when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Still, through that work, the University forged relationships with the Bahamian government, and the Global Institute raised money and started mental health initiatives for youth still reeling from the storm. Now, as the economy of Freeport is beginning to rebound, leaders are working with the University's Global Institute, its Climate Resilience Institute, the School of Architecture, and the nonprofit Resilient Cities Catalyst to build housing that will better sustain the next tropical cyclone.

"The University of Miami's outreach here is unique, but it's what the Bahamas wants and has come to us to provide, and it's a great model for doing any international development and aid, as well as relief and emergency response," said Dr. Elizabeth Greig, co-director of the Global Institute, who helped operate a field hospital in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

This summer, the Bahamian government invited a team of University experts to survey the areas where they want to rebuild, and even though the disaster occurred nearly six years ago, Freeport is still in recovery mode, Greig told a class of architecture students recently.

"It's pretty clear that the aftereffects and destruction this hurricane caused is still top of mind for people there and the government there," Greig said.

Greig explains to architecture students how Dorian's impact was more severe because of the time it spent over the northern Bahamas.

Michael Berkowitz, executive director of the Climate Resilience Institute and an expert in global disaster response, visited Freeport this summer with Greig and both met with Ginger Moxey, the minister of Grand Bahama, to understand the island's needs.

"We are looking at ways that we can leverage the expertise that exists at the University of Miami to help Grand Bahama design more resilient and affordable housing," Berkowitz added. "Because housing is so critical to community life, the work we are doing now, in partnership with the team in Grand Bahama, should lead to better outcomes in the next emergency-whether that is a hurricane, economic downturn, or disease outbreak."

Earlier this semester, Berkowitz and Greig spoke with 12 graduate architecture students in a design studio class about their trip. The students are now designing innovative, sustainable housing for these burgeoning middle-class communities in the Bahamas.

Led by two School of Architecture urban designers, Veruska Vasconez, a senior lecturer, and Thomas Klein, director of the Center for Urban and Community Design, the students are working with Moxey's staff and other agencies in Grand Bahama to develop a master plan with recommendations for single-family and multi-family housing in two neighborhoods in Freeport-Garden Villa and Drake Avenue. They will also be collaborating on a design for a facility that will serve as a small health clinic, community center, and storm shelter for Freeport residents.

After explaining the impact of Dorian to students recently, Greig emphasized the importance of their semester-long assignment.

"You guys are going to have a serious impact on the people's lives you have touched," Greig said.

She explained that students must take into account the local design styles and vibrant colors while creating something strong enough to withstand future storms and the potential for a high storm surge.

"They want something that isn't going to go anywhere and looks like it isn't going to go anywhere," she added.

The students have already met with government officials and visited Grand Bahama in early October to do a full site survey. They will present a master plan to Bahamian leaders in December.

"When we met with the stakeholders recently, the gravity of the project really hit me, and I saw that these structures will be in place for many years and will hopefully help a lot of people, so I've gotten more excited throughout the past few weeks," said Catherine Calhoun, one of the graduate architecture students.

Vasconez said she often tries to match students with real community projects in her upper-level courses and has worked with communities in Brazil, as well as engineers in Porto, Portugal, to use innovative, prefabricated materials and sustainable concrete in her designs. That initially attracted most students to the class, but the ability to positively shape a community's future is a major motivator for Matthew Dutton, he said.

"This is an incredible responsibility, and I am driven to work on something that is not just a hypothetical design," Dutton said.

Klein, an expert in landscape architecture and waterfront design, said that after the fall semester, the Center for Urban and Community Design will continue to work with Bahamian officials to revise and finalize design plans for Grand Bahama.

"We have a very clear scope of work, and the Center will get into more of the specifics, but this project gives us the ability to think creatively and to help solve this need for sustainable housing in Grand Bahama," said Klein.

Students visited Grand Bahama in October to survey the sites they will be focusing on.