Southern Plain
2024 - 2060
Southern Plain
The Southern Plain is the area where many victims of the AIDS epidemic were buried in mass graves, starting in 1989. This area is now at high risk of being impacted by sea-level rise.
According to climate studies conducted by the city, the water table here is projected to rise to 9 feet below the surface by 2050 and to just over 4 feet by 2100. For this reason, new graves should not be deeper than 3 feet below the surface, and caskets should never be stacked.
The rising water table will soon cause existing graves to shift, potentially accelerating erosion. To address this, our proposal utilizes deep-rooted prairie and wet-meadow species to anchor both existing and proposed graves in place. These species will replace the heavily mown, shallow-rooted lawn grass the city currently maintains on the island, providing a nature-based solution for stabilization.
The rising water table will soon cause existing graves to shift, potentially accelerating erosion. To address this, our proposal utilizes deep-rooted prairie and wet-meadow species to anchor both existing and proposed graves in place. These species will replace the heavily mown, shallow-rooted lawn grass the city currently maintains on the island, providing a nature-based solution for stabilization.
Impact of sea level rise
The city's projection of high tide in 2100 relative to the city's proposed mass burial locations
Using the city's 2015 sea level rise projection, we can clearly see the dire consequences for burial sites by 2100.
Projected Inundation by 2100
- The existing and proposed mass graves in this area will be inundated with almost five feet of water.
- In graves where caskets are stacked four deep, the bottom three caskets will be almost completely submerged.
- Plot 68, which was closed in 2019, will also be nearly fully inundated.
This level of inundation will cause graves that are not fully decomposed to shift and heave, potentially rupturing the ground surface.
Conclusion on Burial Suitability
Considering its own sea level rise projections, it is clear that this low-lying part of Hart Island is unsuitable for the city's traditional eight-foot-deep mass graves.
Landscape of Hope
This project was conducted in collaboration with landscape architecture researchers at The Ohio State University Knowlton School and was made possible with support of the Lily Auchicloss Foundation and through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Landscape Design Team Members: Jake Boswell, Jack Gruber, Brendan Ayer and Melinda Hunt
©2025 The Hart Island Project
