Kokua City is a local design approach for revitalizing urban spaces to stay in place in Honolulu as the climate changes the ways we live.
Kokua City is about restoring groundwater levels on the South Shore of Oahu to start This is going to require multi-generational conversations, decisions, and opportunities for companionship for creating more permeable spaces in the city. We are mapping groundwater use and loss toward transforming our streetscape into a place we can breathe and grow.
We are committed to groundwater percolation. Our past work brought local leaders into land and water decisions. Our past work built gentler practices sensitivity and dignity inside industrial production. Our past work developed durable structures (policies, mandates, funded practices) for “co-managing” wild areas, water and natural resources. Today we aim for a groundswell for wai, for stewarding precious water in our island ecosystem with alacrity now that it’s so clear that it is under severe stress and threat.
In Hawaii we are experiencing our first forced mass migration from wildfires on Maui and the pain of loss is compounded by our lack of readiness and skills for nurturing our ground. We need urban ground that is permeable so it can absorb water. Inevitably, some cement must be broken to recharge our aquifers and soils and mitigate urban heat so we can stay grounded here and move forward together with the rising sea.
