Sandy revealed how critical it is for Atlantic City to become more resilient in the face of extreme weather.

Atlantic City’s efforts to adapt to a world of rising seas and stronger storms was the focus of a public meeting Wednesday hosted by planning director Elizabeth Terenik.

The gathering also highlighted a proposal from architecture and design firm Perkins+Will to turn the island into a center of research and experimentation into coastal living.

Terenik said the substantial financial and physical damage caused by Hurricane Sandy revealed how critical it is for Atlantic City to become more resilient in the face of extreme weather.

Ongoing infrastructure projects, such as a $43 million effort to construct a new seawall and boardwalk along Absecon Inlet, and a $6.5 million project to refurbish the century-old Baltic Avenue Drainage Canal, are a key part of that, she said.

Projects like these, funded almost entirely by state and federal money, will reduce both flooding and flood insurance rates, Terenik said.

“We cannot build any kind of economy moving forward if we don’t secure ourselves from storms and hazards,” she added.

Atlantic City had also applied earlier this year to receive as much as $100 million from a competitive HUD program, with the city proposing to use the money for raising homes and roads in Chelsea Heights, among other work.

The city’s proposal was not selected for further consideration, Jim Rutala, the city’s grant manager, said Wednesday.

However, Rutala said the state recently agreed to pay for 35 percent of a planned bulkheading project in Chelsea Heights. The Army Corps of Engineers is already paying for 65 percent of the work, he said.

Beyond the city’s intentions to improve its own preparedness, the meeting introduced a vision of Atlantic City as a laboratory for environmental and engineering studies relevant globally.

A Perkins+Will proposal released this summer said Atlantic City’s need for economic diversification, its geographical and environmental qualities, and its architectural assets – specifically, a variety of large, unused former casinos – could be repurposed as the components of “a global research community for resiliency.”

That research could focus on a variety of topics, such as addressing the challenges posed by rising sea levels, how to protect barrier islands and coastlines, and disaster preparedness.

Daniel Windsor, a senior associate with the firm who attended Wednesday’s talk, said that empty casinos have unique qualities valued by researchers, including the wide-open interior spaces and high ceilings that are often needed to conduct large-scale experiments involving wind tunnels or flooding.

And Janice Barnes, a Perkins+Will principal, said that hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of dollars in assets around the world could be at risk from rising seas.

Research into coastal storm mitigation and preparedness is already underway at major universities, Barnes said, though she added that the market for that research is likely to grow.

“Nobody really knows how to do this,” she said, referring to coastal climate adaptation techniques. “We have to research it, do it well, and then we have to replicate it quickly in communities around the world.”

Barnes and Windsor took a tour of the city led by Terenik following the meeting. The city will continue meeting with Perkins+Will to further discuss the firm’s proposal, they said.

The gathering also highlighted a proposal from architecture and design firm Perkins+Will to turn the island into a center of research and experimentation into coastal living.

Terenik said the substantial financial and physical damage caused by Hurricane Sandy revealed how critical it is for Atlantic City to become more resilient in the face of extreme weather.

Ongoing infrastructure projects, such as a $43 million effort to construct a new seawall and boardwalk along Absecon Inlet, and a $6.5 million project to refurbish the century-old Baltic Avenue Drainage Canal, are a key part of that, she said.

Projects like these, funded almost entirely by state and federal money, will reduce both flooding and flood insurance rates, Terenik said.

“We cannot build any kind of economy moving forward if we don’t secure ourselves from storms and hazards,” she added.

Atlantic City had also applied earlier this year to receive as much as $100 million from a competitive HUD program, with the city proposing to use the money for raising homes and roads in Chelsea Heights, among other work.

The city’s proposal was not selected for further consideration, Jim Rutala, the city’s grant manager, said Wednesday.

However, Rutala said the state recently agreed to pay for 35 percent of a planned bulkheading project in Chelsea Heights. The Army Corps of Engineers is already paying for 65 percent of the work, he said.

Beyond the city’s intentions to improve its own preparedness, the meeting introduced a vision of Atlantic City as a laboratory for environmental and engineering studies relevant globally.

A Perkins+Will proposal released this summer said Atlantic City’s need for economic diversification, its geographical and environmental qualities, and its architectural assets – specifically, a variety of large, unused former casinos – could be repurposed as the components of “a global research community for resiliency.”

That research could focus on a variety of topics, such as addressing the challenges posed by rising sea levels, how to protect barrier islands and coastlines, and disaster preparedness.

Daniel Windsor, a senior associate with the firm who attended Wednesday’s talk, said that empty casinos have unique qualities valued by researchers, including the wide-open interior spaces and high ceilings that are often needed to conduct large-scale experiments involving wind tunnels or flooding.

And Janice Barnes, a Perkins+Will principal, said that hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of dollars in assets around the world could be at risk from rising seas.

Research into coastal storm mitigation and preparedness is already underway at major universities, Barnes said, though she added that the market for that research is likely to grow.

“Nobody really knows how to do this,” she said, referring to coastal climate adaptation techniques. “We have to research it, do it well, and then we have to replicate it quickly in communities around the world.”

Barnes and Windsor took a tour of the city led by Terenik following the meeting. The city will continue meeting with Perkins+Will to further discuss the firm’s proposal.