Coastal Communities

Yellow excavator on rocky beach with bright blue water in background.

NOAA Awards $575M in Coastal Resilience Grants

The program received over $16 billion in requests from communities around the country.

July 29, 2024 - U.S. Department of Commerce

Close-up of blue and white tsunami warning sign on coast in Monterey, California on gloomy day.

Washington State Requests Federal Funding for Tsunami Preparedness

The state’s Department of Natural Resources says it needs continued funding to map coastal areas at risk for tsunami impacts and prepare mitigation and evacuation plans.

February 27, 2024 - King 5 News

Aerial view of coastal Oregon town.

NOAA Releases High-Resolution Coastal Data

The new data can help communities identify risks and assess potential land use impacts in coastal areas.

January 29, 2024 - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

View of windy road in Marin County and Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco skyline in background at sunrise.

California State Law Calls on Coastal Regions to Create Resiliency Plans

Cities and counties at risk of flooding and erosion from sea level rise can access state funding to implement coastal resiliency plans.

October 27, 2023 - Bay City News Foundation

Sunset or sunrise view of coastal wetlands in Louisiana

Louisiana Approves Coastal Restoration Master Plan

The latest update to a state-mandated coastal protection and restoration plan calls for wetlands restoration and new levees to protect communities from flooding.

June 30, 2023 - Governing

Red "Unstable Cliffs - Stay Back" sign on tall Pacific coast cliff

Coastal Climate Resilience to Receive $2.6 Billion Federal Investment

The Biden Administration announced the second massive investment of federal funds for coastal resilience on June 6. The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $3.3 billion to NOAA. In March, the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act added $562 billion.

June 21, 2023 - The Hill

View of oceanfront homes in Malibu, California against golden afternoon sky

Report: West Coast Must Come to Terms With Managed Retreat

As sea levels rise, experts say coastal communities have to overcome their resistance to managed retreat and plan for relocation.

May 10, 2023 - Smart Cities Dive

Mexico City, Florida

Awareness of Climate Change Threats Doesn't Motivate People to Act, Study Finds

Disaster preparedness efforts need to take into account that homeowners in vulnerable areas don’t take action even when the risks are clear.

October 25, 2019 - Grist

San Diego Beach Housing

Coastal City Rejects 'Managed Retreat' Strategy

Del Mar, in Southern California, says it does not want to adopt the approach as part of its sea-level rise adaptation plan.

October 13, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Miami

Senate Bill Would Fund Climate Change Resilience in Coastal Communities

Grant and loan funding, new research, and a competition are some of the ideas included in the Coastal Communities Adaptation Act.

May 17, 2018 - U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation

California Big Sur

The New California Coastal Commission

The commission spent a significant part of last year in the spotlight. Now, its new director is moving ahead on climate adaptation and resilience efforts as a federal policy change looms.

May 8, 2017 - The Planning Report

Santa Monica Bay

Los Angeles Reaps the Benefits of Restoring the Santa Monica Bay

Los Angeles has made major progress in restoring the Santa Monica Bay. Now, The Bay Foundation's Tom Ford sees opportunities for L.A. to capitalize on its natural resources.

April 28, 2016 - The Planning Report

Aerial views during an Army search and rescue mission show damage from Hurricane Sandy to the New Jersey coast, Oct. 30, 2012.

How Sea Level Rise Will Change the Country's Geography

In a worst case scenario, generated by a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, land home to 25 million Americans will be lost to rising seas as a result of climate change.

October 15, 2015 - The Washington Post

Federal Bill Would Enable Waterfront Community Resilience Planning

A bill proposed in the U.S. Senate provides a model for how the federal government could support resilience planning in waterfront and coastal communities.

August 25, 2015 - APA Policy News

'Digital Coast' Connects Planners and Data for Coastal Resilience

A new resource created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in partnership with the APA makes it easier for planners to access the data necessary to plan for climate adaptation, sea level rise, and other forms of coastal resilience.

August 13, 2015 - APA Policy News

Bridgeport Rail

Connecticut Shoreline Rail Vulnerable to Floods

Long stretches of Connecticut's "lifeblood" shoreline rail line lie in the path of rising seas and future floods. While moving the tracks further inland is prohibitively expensive, a resilience plan is still needed.

August 7, 2015 - The Connecticut Mirror

5 Resilience Plans for the 21st Century

Resilience is one of the hottest buzzwords in contemporary planning, and planners in communities around the country are only beginning to realize the multiple benefits of the attention and funding devoted to resilience plans.

July 18, 2015 - APA Policy News

Grant Program Announced for Coastal Community Resilience

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has announced two new grant programs that focus on helping coastal communities and regions develop effective strategies to prepare for, and recover from, the effects of climate change.

May 28, 2015 - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Study Compares Natural and Hybrid Infrastructure Options for Coastal Protection

As coastal communities look for new ways to build resilience, they'll need to consider options such as the natural and hybrid systems compared in a new study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

April 30, 2015 - NOAA

Photo Exhibit Focuses on How Communities Adapt to Climate Change

An exhibit at LA’s Annenberg Space for Photography looks at how different communities are adapting in order to become resilient to the threats of climate change - a review by LA County planner Clement Lau.

March 3, 2015 - UrbDeZine

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.

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