Walking the Tightrope: Creating Great Coastal Communities

In my last blog post, I talked about some of the challenges and growth pressures coastal communities are facing.  Within 10 years, the coastal population is expected to grow by 12 million people—or by 3,600 people per day.  This growth poses unique opportunities—and challenges—to coastal communities. The issue facing these communities becomes one of balance: how to maximize the opportunities waterfront development can provide to a community and, at the same time, meet the often significant challenges.  

3 minute read

July 26, 2007, 2:11 PM PDT

By Anonymous


In my last blog post, I talked about some of the challenges and growth pressures coastal communities are facing.  Within 10 years, the coastal population is expected to grow by 12 million people-or by 3,600 people per day.  This growth poses unique opportunities-and challenges-to coastal communities. The issue facing these communities becomes one of balance: how to maximize the opportunities waterfront development can provide to a community and, at the same time, meet the often significant challenges.  

Many communities have used the ten smart growth principles to get development that strikes this kind of balance.  Developed in 1996 by the Smart Growth Network, the principles are based on the characteristics and experiences of thriving, diverse, and successful communities. These principles help guide growth and development in communities that have a vision of what they want their future to be and of what their residents value in their community.   

But should a smart growth development -- e.g., one that is compact, mixed use, pedestrian friendly, and offers a range of housing types and transportation choices -- that is directly on the water look and feel the same as a similar development one mile inland?  I don't think so.  Development next to a water body offers a wide range of opportunities, different from what an inland development can offer, to create a thriving, diverse, distinct neighborhood that can serve residents and visitors alike.   

To fully realize the opportunities that waterfront development can yield, coastal and waterfront communities may need more context-sensitive smart growth principles to better address the unique opportunities they face.    

Recognizing this void, I worked with Sea Grant Extension agents from Rhode Island and Michigan to draft ten waterfront and coastal smart growth elements.  These elements build off the smart growth principles but add coastal and waterfront context.  For example, in considering transportation options, a waterfront development could include ferries, water taxis, and similar options, in addition to walking, biking, driving, and taking transit.  Or the community might create "blue" trails or plan a TOD next to a ferry stop.   

These waterfront and coastal smart growth elements are still in draft form; I'm offering them here as possible guidelines for development immediately adjacent to the water and as a possible tool for local governments to use as they balance the many competing demands for water access, waterfront land, and water views.  Like the smart growth principles, these elements can help a community get better new development or retrofit existing development.  Coastal and waterfront communities across the U.S. have found they improve their economy, environment, community, and public health by incorporating the elements described below.  

  1. Mix land uses and ensure that working waterfronts and access to water-dependent uses remain a viable part of this mix.
  2. Take advantage of compact building design to maximize waterfront and water-based activities in appropriate areas.
  3. Provide a range of housing opportunities and choices to meet the needs of both seasonal and permanent residents.
  4. Create walkable communities with visual and physical access to and along the waterfront.
  5. Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place while protecting, preserving, and enhancing waterfront and coastal heritage.
  6. Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and coastal features and processes by protecting critical dunes, wetlands, marshes, barrier islands and other essential environmental areas.
  7. Direct development to existing communities and use it as a catalyst for waterfront revitalization.
  8. Provide a variety of transportation choices, including ferries and other water-borne modes, to compliment land-based options.
  9. Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost-effective, including state and federal waterfront permitting processes.
  10. Promote community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions, including stakeholders who represent the public trust legacy of coastal waters.

Do these sound about right?  I'm interested in your feedback.  I am hearing increasingly from waterfront and coastal communities that they need more and diverse tools to help them capture the opportunities associated with growth without forever damaging the resources that make these places special, and I hope these elements can help them. 


View form second story inside Southdale Mall in Edina, Minnesota with escalators and model cars parked on downstairs floor.

The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall

The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.

March 21, 2024 - Governing

View of Austin, Texas skyline with river in foreground during morning golden hour.

The Paradox of American Housing

How the tension between housing as an asset and as an essential good keeps the supply inadequate and costs high.

March 26, 2024 - The Atlantic

Houston, Texas skyline.

Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities

The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.

March 22, 2024 - Urban Edge

Aerial view of Anchorage, Alaska downtown with mountains in background at golden hour.

Anchorage Leaders Debate Zoning Reform Plan

Last year, the city produced the fewest new housing units in a decade.

March 28 - Anchorage Daily News

Young man in wheelchair crossing zebra crosswalk.

How to Protect Pedestrians With Disabilities

Public agencies don’t track traffic deaths and injuries involving disabled people, leaving a gap in data to guide safety interventions.

March 28 - Governing

Aerial view of mountain town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado in the winter with snow at dusk.

Colorado Town Fills Workforce Housing Need With ‘Dorm-Style’ Housing

Median rent in Steamboat Springs is $4,000 per month.

March 28 - CBS News

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Write for Planetizen

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.