FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are moving in the right direction to include the best science available in floodplain planning. They are also embracing nature-based solutions as part of the toolkit to manage stormwater effectively, said landscape architect Jos Juan Terrasa-Soler, ASLA, PLA, a partner at Marvel, based in Puerto Rico.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has updated its standards and maps to better protect communities from flooding, which is only increasing with climate change.The agency says the new Federal Flood Risk Management Standard uses the best available science to guide communities on how to reduce their vulnerabilities. The standard expands their conception of the floodplain to reflect both current and future flood risk.The new approach also requires FEMA and states to consider both natural features and nature-based solutions when they rebuild.Read more in ASLA's THE DIRT: https://bit.ly/3SveclUImage Credit: Proposed climate-ready community parks for the eight communities along Cao Martn Pea, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Over 75 percent of the homes in these communities have flooded in the last 5 years. / MARVEL