Coastal Resilience

We are living in an urban, coastal world. Cities are home to more than 80% of the U.S. population, and 39% of the nation’s population live in counties directly on the shoreline. Now more than ever, societal risks are increasingly defined by urban, coastal issues such as sea-level rise and flooding.

These risks give rise to some pressing research questions, including:

• Are storm surge, dry-day flooding, and coastal erosion more likely in the coming decades due to sea-level rise?
• Are coastal infrastructure systems (water, waste, transportation) adequate in light of our unfolding climate and other social and environmental changes?
• What are the best practices for coastal cities to strengthen their livelihoods and infrastructure to these mounting risks?
• What are the obstacles that hinder our abilities to prepare for and respond to these challenges?

CES is leading research to answer these questions for the growing coastal metropolis of Southeast Florida. Our work integrates researchers from the social, biophysical, engineering, and policy sciences. Our projects are shaped by stakeholders from the public and private sectors.