Student: Rachel Jacobson
Graduation date: May 2018
Type: Concentration (single major)
Date approved: November 2015
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Summary
Coastal cities are unique. They are located at the boundary between oceanic, terrestrial and atmospheric forces. Humans are drawn to coasts because of their high ecological productivity, trade and economic opportunities, aesthetic appeal, and so on (Beatley 2012). The ocean is an amazing resource for food, energy, recreation, transportation, and externalities many people do not think of such as moderating temperatures. However, coasts are also subject to unique vulnerabilities. As climate change takes effect, coastlines will be redrawn as sea levels rise. Coastal storms and hurricanes will increase in frequency and magnitude, leading to increased disruption of coastal populations and infrastructure (Beatley 2012). Traditional coastal issues such as erosion and coastal inundation will also be exacerbated (Nicholls et al. 2007). This is particularly problematic because over one third of the world’s population live on the coast and those numbers continue to grow (Klein et al. 2001). As coasts become increasingly urbanized, the ground becomes less permeable, leading to flooding and polluted runoff.
In the face of such problems, coastal cities must be resilient. In my research of resilience, I came across many different definitions. Most depict resilience as the capacity of a system or community to adapt to disturbance in real time in order to minimize impact (Berkes and Turner 2006, Klein et al. 2003, Walker et al. 2004). Resilience is not contained to just a landscape or a population. By looking at resilience as a property of different social-ecological systems (SES), we are able to break down the binary between “natural” and “human” processes (Folke et al. 2005) to view the whole as a complex, integrated system. This allows us to acknowledge and address the human dimensions of ecological change and vica versa (Redman et al. 2004). For an example using storm surge, I would not just look at how people react to a storm surge or just how the storm surge affects the physical coast, but both and how those might interact.
Scale plays an important role in these systems. Take South Korea as an example. The Korean peninsula, although it does sit along the volatile pacific rim, is geologically stable. If I were to look at the peninsula as a whole, I would note the mountainous terrain and, when coupled with heavy monsoon seasons, plan for landslides and flooding. Taking that down to a smaller scale, the eastern coast borders the Sea of Japan, a highly productive body of water with fertile fishing grounds. When looking at this scale, I would address the degradation of fishing grounds at the hands of industry, pollution and overfishing. On an individual city scale, South Korea’s second largest city, Busan, sits at the southern tip of the east coast. Busan is a very successful trading port, filled with heavy industry, a densely packed population, and pollution. When looking at any one scale, it is important to keep the others in mind.
Knowing climate change problems will become increasingly apparent in the future years, we must now examine new ways to adapt. For many years, the focus was on disaster recovery and clean up, but new research has shown mitigation should be at the forefront. Prediction, prevention, planning and preparedness will do more for communities in the long run (Mileti 1999). These solutions should also be safe to fail and dynamic enough to adapt to changing conditions. For example, scientists have recently predicted that the long overdue Cascadia earthquake will hit the Pacific Northwest region within the next 50 years, causing a tsunami and major geological changes. Because the area has seen relatively little disturbance for the past 300 years, existing infrastructure is wildly unprepared. Modifying existing structures and plans to be more resilient to disturbance might save thousands of lives if done in time.
In contrast, the beautiful, low-lying, sandy coasts of Wales are prone to erosion and coastal flooding, only made worse by sea level rise. Welsh cities are not densely populated like those of South Korea, but the coasts hold a large proportion of the country’s population, industry and conservation areas. Wales is at risk of losing large swathes of land and resources to the sea. By looking at a similar phenomena in three different cultural and geographical contexts, I will develop a nuanced understanding of how resilience can be fostered across a range of the socio-ecological systems. I hope to have experience living briefly in all three of these situated contexts by studying abroad.
References:
- Beatley, Timothy. 2012. Planning for Coastal Resilience: Best Practices for Calamitous Times. Island Press.
- Berkes, Fikret, and Nancy J. Turner. 2006. “Knowledge, Learning and the Evolution of Conservation Practice for Social-Ecological System Resilience.” Human Ecology 34 (4): 479–94. doi:10.1007/s10745-006-9008-2.
- Folke, Carl, Thomas Hahn, Per Olsson, and Jon Norberg. 2005. “Adaptive Governance of Social-Ecological Systems.” Annual Review of Environment and Resources 30 (1): 441–73. doi:10.1146/annurev.energy.30.050504.144511.
- Klein, Richard J. T., Robert J. Nicholls, Sachooda Ragoonaden, Michele Capobianco, James Aston, and Earle N. Buckley. 2001. “Technological Options for Adaptation to Climate Change in Coastal Zones.” Journal of Coastal Research 17 (3): 531–43.
- Klein, Richard J. T., Robert J. Nicholls, and Frank Thomalla. 2003. “Resilience to Natural Hazards: How Useful Is This Concept?” Global Environmental Change Part B: Environmental Hazards 5 (1–2): 35–45. doi:10.1016/j.hazards.2004.02.001.
- Mileti, Dennis. 1999. Disasters by Design:: A Reassessment of Natural Hazards in the United States. Joseph Henry Press.
- Nicholls, R., P. Wong, V. Burkett, J. Codignotto, J. Hay, R. McLean, S. Ragoonaden, et al. 2007. “Coastal Systems and Low-Lying Areas.” Faculty of Science – Papers (Archive), January. http://ro.uow.edu.au/scipapers/164.
- Redman, Charles L., J. Morgan Grove, and Lauren H. Kuby. 2004. “Integrating Social Science into the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network: Social Dimensions of Ecological Change and Ecological Dimensions of Social Change.” Ecosystems 7 (2): 161–71. doi:10.1007/s10021-003-0215-z.
- Walker, Brian, C. S. Holling, Stephen R. Carpenter, and Ann Kinzing. 2004. “Resilience, Adaptability and Transformability in Social– Ecological Systems.” Ecology and Society 9 (2): 5.
Questions
- Descriptive: To what sorts of hazards and environmental impacts are coastal cities particularly vulnerable? What does a resilient infrastructure look like in practice? Who are the important stakeholders that need to be address when designing resilient infrastructure?
- Explanatory: Why are populations along coastlines growing? If coasts are becoming increasingly dangerous, why do people continue to flock to them? Why is resilience important in coastal cities specifically?
- Evaluative: If resilience wasn’t taken into account when developing coastal cities, what would be the results? For whom are the benefits of resilience most important? Are different population within a coastal city subject to different benefits and/or hazards?
- Instrumental: How can science inform development and management strategy and policy? How can we build resilient infrastructure that will be flexible enough to adapt to changing conditions?
Concentration courses
- ENVS 499 (Independent Study, 4 credits), spring 2016 + fall 2017. Preparation for independent research while studying abroad fall 2016 and spring 2017.
- GEOL 270 (Oceanography, 5 credits), spring 2016. Physical properties and processes of the ocean and policy implications.
- OS-225 SK1 (Cities & Socio-Technical Systems, 3 credits), spring 2017. Examining complex, systemic urban change through a socio-technical systems lens. Taken while abroad in Seoul, South Korea.
- SOAN 282 (Pacific Rim Cities, 4 credits), spring 2016. Inspection of coastal cities, urban planning, sustainability and other related topics. Seoul is also used as a case study.
- ENVS 460 (Environmental Law & Policy), fall 2017. Environmental and natural resource law and policy, including water law.
Arts and humanities courses
- HIST 261 (Global Environmental History, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- PHIL 215 (Philosophy and the Environment, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- HIST 239 (Constructing the American Landscape, 4 credits), spring 2018. Understanding the different forces behind the construction of built environments.