REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.
Norfolk Preservation Collective (NPC), in partnership with the City of Norfolk’s Office of Resilience, Old Dominion University’s Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience (ICAR), and the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) are excited to co-hosting Keeping History Above Water® in Norfolk, Virginia in May 15-18, 2022 at the Chrysler Museum of Art. The conference co-hosts will also be joined by partner organizations from the region and throughout the Commonwealth including the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, Environmental Defense Fund, Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Preservation Virginia, Building Resilient Solutions, Commonwealth Preservation Group, Downtown Norfolk Council, Elizabeth River Trail Foundation, the Elizabeth River Project, Norfolk Historical Society, the Sargeant Memorial Collection of the Slover Library, VisitNorfolk, Wetlands Watch, and WHRO (local NPR affiliate).
Keeping History Above Water® (KHAW) was founded in 2016 by the Newport Restoration Foundation to foster a national conversation focused on the increasing and varied risks posed by sea-level rise to historic coastal communities. KHAW® programs, conferences, and workshops focus on protecting historic buildings, landscapes, and neighborhoods from the increasing threat of inundation. Since the inaugural conference in Newport, KHAW® events have been hosted in Annapolis, Palo Alto, Des Moines, St. Augustine, Nantucket, Charleston, and Salem.
Organizations in Norfolk and across the Tidewater region have been at the forefront of research, policy-making, adaptation and mitigation. Norfolk and its environs are a living laboratory where programs like the RISE Resiliency Challenge and the Ohio Creek Watershed Project are creating technology and implementing adaptation strategies to help stem the effects of rising tides. KHAW: Norfolk 2022 will bring experts from around the country and the world to Southeast Virginia to showcase this work, and demonstrate how Hampton Roads is stepping up to the challenge faced by historic coastal communities.
KHAW: Norfolk 2022 will place focus on solutions to the varied challenges presented by recurrent flooding. With the conference theme “Informed Communities Charting Solutions” in mind, the program will highlight the implementation and impact of research, adaptation, and mitigation strategies in flood-prone communities. The conference will also focus on social justice and the socioeconomic impacts of sea-level rise on historic communities.