Lessons for Shoreline Resiliency: An Engineer's Analysis of Sea-Level Rise Planning in the Southeastern United States

Many coastal communities have to adapt in some form to mean sea-level rise (MSLR). This involves planning and determining the best path to protect lives, property, and infrastructure. Currently, planning for sea-level change is left to states and local communities to outline how to mitigate or adapt to changing sea level. Many communities independently develop their sea-level mitigation plans based on publicly available information and might benefit from a nationally coordinated effort to offer expert information for better planning. Analyzing the current state and local strategies provides a baseline for understanding broader sea-level mitigation needs. Findings from this analysis show that many communities in southeastern states are using similar methods (i.e., natural infrastructure, including land use and zoning and conservation) to prepare for sea-level rise (SLR), which suggests collaboration and communication among communities is a logical step to advance SLR planning. Looking specifically at coastline protection methods, current methods are geographically fragmented, which could impact their success. Additionally, SLR is not universally recognized as a hazard as 30% of plans analyzed did not mention SLR. This limited study conducted by a Hollings scholar during a summer internship reviews and categorizes the different sea-level plans of states, counties, and communities along the Gulf Coast up to North Carolina to determine how federal agencies can best assist local communities in SLR planning.