Capstone studio project led by Hongbing Tang awarded Rhode Island Sea Grant

Hongbing Tang (third from left) with URI faculty and students from Landscape Architecture, Ocean Engineering and Civil Engineering attended a community workshop in Jamestown, RI on Feb. 20, 2025; photo by Monica Allard Cox

Hongbing Tang (third from left) with URI faculty and students from Landscape Architecture, Ocean Engineering and Civil Engineering attended a community workshop in Jamestown, RI on February 20, 2025; photo by Monica Allard Cox

May 22, 2025
Student News

Hongbing Tang, a PhD in Regional Planning candidate at UMass Amherst and Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Rhode Island (URI) taught an Integrated Coastal Resilience Capstone Studio Course at URI this spring. Her Capstone project in Jamestown, RI has been awarded a Rhode Island Sea Grant.  

The road adjacent to Mackerel Cove Town Beach was rendered impassable three times during the 2023-24 winter due to coastal flooding and storm debris. The dunes were severally damaged by recent storm surge and coastal erosion. Starting this past winter, 19 senior landscape architecture students at the URI dedicated their capstone course to developing innovative strategies to protect Mackerel Cove Beach and adjacent Sheffield Cove waterfront from the growing threats of climate change and sea-level rise. Working collaboratively with students from the joint Ocean Engineering and Civil Engineering Capstone class, they researched, brainstormed, and ultimately proposed six distinct landscape solutions aimed at enhancing the resilience of these vulnerable coastal areas. 

Tang led her students on a visit to Jamestown twice during the spring semester to do a field study and site analysis. The class also heard from several town officials and residents about the dangers facing the area from sea-level rise and tidal flooding, as well as the need to protect Beavertail Road, the only access to the southern portion of the Conanicut Island.  

Community engagement is a crucial part of the Capstone course curriculum.  In February,Tang guided her class in organizing a community engagement workshop in Jamestown, which was attended by almost 60 community members, along with 20 URI students and faculty. Despite the unpredictable, harsh winter weather, the event was a tremendous success with an unusually high turnout. The class also gathered input with two online surveys that received comments from another 150 community members.   

On April 29th, the class presented their final designs to several Jamestown officials, fellow students, faculty, and guest reviewers at the Higgins Welcome Center on the URI Kingston Campus. Their creative designs offered a diverse range of solutions to enhance coastal resiliency in the area. In addition to addressing waterfront protection, the students presented ideas for improving parking and transportation, reinforcing dunes with native plantings, and enhancing public access. Highlights included an ADA-accessible kayak launch, boardwalks, and scenic lookouts for birdwatching at Sheffield Cove, which is home to a town park, recreational area, and an Audubon Society wildlife refuge. 

This summer, Hongbing Tang will supervise two seniors from the class to prepare a final report of the Capstone project and send it to Jamestown officials. Students’ ideas will be used as a basis for discussions between the town and state officials as they work on solutions for sea-level rise affecting Mackerel Cove and the surrounding area. 

Hongbing Tang's integrated senior capstone class has been featured in URI’s online newspaper Rhody Today, the Rhode Island Sea Grant Newsletter, and the local newspaper Jamestown Press: