Achieving sustainability goals for urban coasts in the US Northeast: research needs and challenges

ABSTRACT

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy and other recent extreme events, urban coastal communities in the northeast region of the United States are beginning or stepping up efforts to integrate climate adaptation and resilience into long-term coastal planning. Natural and nature-based shoreline strategies have emerged as essential components of coastal resilience and are frequently cited by practitioners, scientists, and the public for the wide range of ecosystem services they can provide. However, there is limited quantitative information associating particular urban shoreline design strategies with specific levels of ecosystem service provision, and research on this issue is not always aligned with decision context and decision-maker needs. Engagement between the research community, local government officials and sustainability practitioners, and the non-profit and private sectors can help bridge these gaps. A workshop to bring together these groups discussed research gaps and challenges in integrating ecosystem services into urban sustainability planning in the urban northeast corridor. Many themes surfaced repeatedly throughout workshop deliberations, including the challenges associated with ecosystem service valuation, the transferability of research and case studies within and outside the region, and the opportunity for urban coastal areas to be a focal point for education and outreach efforts related to ecosystem services.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate vulnerability
• natural and nature-based features
• sustainability
• adaptation
• urban coasts
• ecosystem services

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the workshop participants and presenters for their thoughtful contributions to the workshop, and R. Griffin for thoughtful comments on the manuscript. This workshop was co-funded by the NOAA Climate Program Office Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) and Coastal and Ocean Climate Applications (COCA) programs. S. Close and H. Jones were funded by the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship through Oregon Sea Grant and North Carolina Sea Grant, respectively, during the organization of the workshop and subsequent activities. We also thank Stevens Institute of Technology for space and logistic support for the workshop. The scientific results and conclusions, as well as any views or opinions expressed herein, are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or the Department of Commerce.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCiD

Sarah L. Close http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6618-0943

Hunter Jones http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4588-3911

Notes

1. As defined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Use of Natural and Nature-Based Features (NNBF) for Coastal Resilience: Final Report: (Bridges et al. 2014)

   Natural Features are created and evolve over time through the actions of physical, biological, geologic, and chemical processes operating in nature. Natural coastal features take a variety of forms, including reefs (e.g., coral and oyster), barrier islands, dunes, beaches, wetlands, and maritime forests. The relationships and interactions among the natural and built features comprising the coastal system are important variables determining coastal vulnerability, reliability, risk, and resilience. Nature-Based Features are those that may mimic characteristics of natural features but are created by human design, engineering, and construction to provide specific services such as coastal risk reduction. The combination of both natural and nature-based features is referred to collectively as nature and nature-based features (NNBF).

2. www.usdn.org.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Program Office [NA13OAR4310144].