North American coastal mitigation plans in the hazards literature: institutional capacity, stakeholder impacts, and resettlement

Keywords: hazards, coastal, vulnerability, hazard mitigation planning, mitigation, North America, institutional capacity
Session Type: Virtual Poster
Day: Wednesday
Session Start / End Time: 4/7/2021 09:35 AM (Pacific Time (US & Canada)) - 4/7/2021 10:50 AM (Pacific Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 51

Abstract

Frequency and intensity of coastal hazards driven by climate and land change have been increasing in many parts of the world. In North America, 40% of the population lives near the coast. While many settlements are mandated to have hazard mitigation plans, the extent to which these plans address emerging vulnerabilities of these settlements to coastal hazards is unclear. To assess how the plans or the perceptions of plans by local officials and stakeholders influence mitigation against hazards in North American coastal cities, we carried out a systematic review of the coastal hazard mitigation literature to assess how mitigating natural hazards has been studied in the literature. The themes of institutional capacity, stakeholder and infrastructural impacts, and attitudes toward resettlement are threaded through the 67 selected articles. These themes highlight that outdated and clunky funding and governance mechanisms hinder successful mitigation in many cases. Better interagency and scientific communication with the public as well as improved governance frameworks for adaptation and mitigation, including resettlement, can serve to minimize stakeholders’ climate science mistrust and to promote the rise of local champions for local mitigation strategies and greater environmental equity in both urban and rural communities.