Safe Shores and Resilient Transit Corridors: Using Science, Design, and Stakeholder Partnerships to Address Connecticut’s Coastal Vulnerabilities

Abstract:

Connecticut’s densely developed coastline is highly vulnerable to sea level rise and coastal storms. 95% of the state’s entire population lives within 50 miles of the shore. Connecticut has more than $542 billion in insured assets in harms way, only Florida has a greater exposure. As part of the state of Connecticut Phase 1 application for the HUD National Disaster Resilience Competition, the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) at the University of Connecticut undertook an assessment of coastal vulnerabilities, including the impacts of sea level rise on the frequency of flooding, socioeconomic factors, critical infrastructure, and housing using data collected from federal, state, and municipal sources. Connecticut’s unique geology, characterized by a glaciated coastline with highly erodible former deltas and elevated ridgelines extending out to rocky headlands, became the basis of the climate adaptation approach. Together with a nine state agency workgroup, municipal and regional government, and non-profit and industry representatives, CIRCA and the Yale UED lab developed a long-term urban redevelopment solution of resilient access and egress corridors layered over ridgelines and resilient zones of transit oriented economic development linked to shoreline communities. This concept can be applied in both Connecticut’s coastal cities like New Haven and its smaller towns. The process demonstrated the effective partnership between the universities and state agencies in bringing the science of flood modeling and mapping together with innovative design to create solutions for climate adaptation. However, it also revealed significant gaps in data availability to analyze the economic and social drivers for adopting different adaptation strategies. Furthermore, the accuracy of current flood mapping tools needs to be improved to predict future flooding at the municipal project scale. As Connecticut and other states move forward with resilience planning, continued investment in physical and social sciences at the local level will be necessary to effectively implement those plans.