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Living On The Coast: |
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| Caroline Kurrus | |||
| Session: Sunday, April 16, 2000, 10:30 am | Author Info | ||
Finding tools to plan for growth has become a priority for many coastal communities. Because the planning and coastal management fields are multidisciplinary, searching a diversity of Web sites for relevant information can be inefficient. In addition, case studies describing smart growth approaches do not always describe a community's methodology, which, when documented and made available over the Internet, can be adapted by other communities.
To address these issues, the NOAA Coastal Services Center is developing Living on the Coast, a Web site that highlights basic design principles and consolidates existing techniques adaptable to coastal areas for use by planners, developers, and coastal and natural resource managers.
MANAGING COASTAL GROWTH
Coastal Development Patterns
Coastal communities are places where more and more people are choosing to live, work, and recreate. While many localities welcome the economic development that accompanies growth, they are also concerned with how these changes will impact their quality of life.
Coastal areas hold the nation's fastest growth rates and the largest urban centers. Between 1960 and 1990, population in coastal areas increased by over 35 percent, slightly higher than the growth rate for the rest of the U.S. In 1990, almost one-half of the nation's population lived in coastal counties along the shores of the Great Lakes, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and the Gulf of Mexico. Nationwide, population in coastal areas is expected to continue to increase by approximately fifteen percent over the next decade (NOAA 1990).
Coastal areas also support some of the most densely populated areas in the country. In 1960, population density averaged 61 persons per square mile for the entire U.S., and 248 persons per square mile in coastal counties. Between 1960 and 1988, average population density of coastal counties grew by about 40 percent, and this trend is expected to continue (NOAA 1990).
The Smart Growth Approach
Coastal communities face a number of different challenges as they make planning and policy choices. A rural waterfront community may be struggling with attracting new industries to offset a decline in fisheries, protecting sensitive habitat, and balancing the needs of working watermen, recreational boaters, and tourists. An urban coastal community, on the other hand, may be trying to meet demands for affordable housing, protect public access to the waterfront, revitalize abandoned industrial sites, and manage port expansion and other water-dependent industries.
In both cases, there is a potential for conflict between various interests. Leaders in sustainable development and smart growth, however, argue that economic development does not have to occur at the expense of the environment, and environmental protection can be good for local economies. Smart growth and sustainable development emphasize the need for development to benefit the community at large by balancing social, economic, and environmental priorities.
The Role of Coastal Management
The Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) was passed by Congress in 1972, establishing a partnership between coastal states and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to manage the coast. Specifically, the CZMA was designed to:
Under the CZMA, state-run coastal management programs work to achieve a number of objectives, including the following:
Today, almost all of the 35 eligible U.S. states, territories, and commonwealths operate federally approved coastal management programs, and over $1.6 billion in federal and state matching funds have been awarded to implement state coastal management programs (NOAA 1998).
The Need for Access to Tools and Techniques
Coastal managers, who have expertise in areas such as environmental sciences, planning, or coastal or natural resource management, use a number of techniques to manage the coast: regulation, land use planning, land and water management techniques, and research and assessment (NOAA 1998). They share information and knowledge with colleagues in a number of ways, including newsletters, training, conferences, and the Internet. According to a 1999 survey, all of the coastal management offices have access to the Internet (NOAA 2000), which has become a vital source of information and contains many resources about sustainable development and smart growth.
Resources for smart growth and sustainable development on the Internet include issue-based information, case studies and success stories, tools, resources, and links to other organizations. Because the planning and coastal management fields are multidisciplinary, searching a wide diversity of Web sites for relevant information can be time-consuming and ineffective.
In addition, case studies may provide good models, but they do not always describe a community's step-by-step process. For example, community leaders may understand the importance of identifying vulnerable areas, but may not know how to conduct a vulnerability assessment. If these types of methodologies are documented and made available over the Internet, other communities can adapt the techniques to their own needs. Having access to an array of techniques can also help identify data, information, and staff training needs, and can assist in developing outreach and marketing plans.
LIVING ON THE COAST: SMART GROWTH TOOLS ON THE INTERNET
To address some of these issues, the NOAA Coastal Services Center is developing Living on the Coast, a Web site that consolidates existing smart growth tools and techniques that are adaptable to coastal areas. The tools are organized by a broad set of principles and a series of guidelines that reinforce concepts of smart growth and coastal management:
Each of these categories features existing planning tools such as performance indicators, cultural and natural resource inventories, and green building techniques, as outlined in Table 1. Planners, developers, natural resource managers, and others will be able to select and adapt measures to their needs.
Table 1. Project Overview: Principles, Guidelines, and Examples of Techniques
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LIVING ON THE COAST |
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2. Design for People |
3. Build for the Future |
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Gather relevant data
Understand local trends
Engage citizens and partners
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Protect community resources
Foster healthy places
Evaluate economic opportunities
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Avoid vulnerable places
Use existing infrastructure
Benefit from natural systems
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A number of organizations and individuals have developed guidelines to promote environmentally sound development. Some are philosophical principles, while others are technical specifications. The guidelines created for this project provide a starting point for coastal communities to approach smart growth, and they link directly to techniques that can assist communities with implementation. They also focus on pressures facing the coast, including demands for new housing, impacts of tourism and recreation, the challenges of waterfront redevelopment, protection and restoration of open space and habitat, and development in areas vulnerable to erosion and other coastal hazards.
Know Your Place
"Know Your Place," the first principle, emphasizes the need to understand the identity of a place. A technique that succeeds in one place may not work elsewhere because of differences in culture, climate, or politics. To know a place well takes time, intuition, and patient observation. Wendell Berry, farmer, poet, and teacher, writes in "An Argument for Diversity" that "the sciences and the humanities are going to have to come together again in the presence of the practical problems of individual places, and of local knowledge and local love in individual people" (Berry 1990). The following guidelines identify types of information and the techniques used to understand the local context:
Gather Relevant Data. What issues is the community facing, and what knowledge would assist in making informed decisions? The town of Freeport, Maine, for example, wants to identify its natural and cultural resources to implement its open space plan. The town may need to establish a baseline inventory–land cover, biological resources, scenic vistas, historic features–and identify areas vulnerable to erosion or other hazards. It can conduct interviews and surveys, and gather demographic data to anticipate the social and economic impacts of decisions.
Understand Local Trends is about using data to show change or anticipate future scenarios. Comparing information over time will help Freeport identify important trends. Is forest or farmland being converted to residential development, and at what rate? Based on the current zoning, what will the area look like at current development rates in 20 years? What indicators can Freeport establish to measure future change?
Engage Citizens and Partners. Much of the dialogue about sustainable communities is about local quality of life issues. What do the residents of Freeport value about their surroundings? What are their concerns for their community? And what is the most appropriate way to engage the public–through interviews, hearings, planning workshops, design charrettes, or other processes? Can neighboring localities, nonprofits, industries, or state or federal partners help with implementation?
Design for People
Urban critic Jane Jacobs recently commented that humans may be gradually destroying their own habitat through urban sprawl. Healthy cities, like natural systems, rely on diversity for growth and strength. "Design for People" acknowledges that people need healthy ecosystems in order to prosper. This section links users to planning, design, and policy techniques that help to apply data and information, and is organized by the following guidelines:
Protect Community Resources. How can a community effectively safeguard those resources it identifies as valuable? This section highlights tools such as conservation easements and land acquisition, cluster and conservation development, special area management plans, and the designation of habitat corridors, historic sites, and cultural landscapes.
Foster Healthy Places. Downtown Freeport is dominated by retail outlets attracted by the success of L.L. Bean, Freeport's world-famous sports and apparel merchant. The old town library now houses Abercrombie and Fitch, Main Street residences serve up bed and breakfast, and the city hall may also be converted into retail space. What techniques could encourage a greater mix of commercial and residential uses? Is affordable housing available to meet the needs of those who work downtown? What transportation strategies could alleviate the ever-growing demand for parking lots? This section includes information on how to encourage mixed-use development, walkable communities, housing and neighborhood choices, and access to coastal recreational opportunities.
Evaluate Economic Opportunities. How does tourism affect Freeport's economy, its social services, and its natural and cultural environment? What other industries are appropriate for Freeport, given its farming, fishing, and shipbuilding heritage, its location on the coast, and its proximity to Portland, Maine's largest urban area? This section will link to economic development and redevelopment strategies, incentive programs, public and private funding sources, and other information.
Build for the Future
"No human creation lasts forever and design does not solve all problems," wrote architect William A. McDonough in The Hannover Principles: Design for Sustainability (McDonough 1992). Our predecessors left us the legacy of the family farm, Main Street, cul-de-sacs, and superhighways. What remnants of the built environment will we leave the next generation? "Build for the Future" links to site planning, real estate, development and construction techniques that follow these guidelines:
Avoid Vulnerable Places. How can communities along the coast avoid building or rebuilding in places that are vulnerable to hazards such as storms, hurricanes, tsunamis, and landslides? What building materials and construction practices can reduce the risk of damages? What techniques such as dune restoration or wetlands protection can a town use to make an area more resilient to impacts from storms and flooding?
Use Existing Infrastructure. Whether it’s a sewer line, public water supply, or an abandoned industrial site, using existing infrastructure can often save money and protect the environment. Sharing services within a region increases efficiency for some communities. Redeveloping industrial brownfields and developing existing urban lots can eliminate the need for new roads. Power- and water-saving technologies can reduce the need to build new infrastructure.
Benefit from Natural Systems. Nature offers many of its services for free. Wetlands and forests are natural buffers, absorbing runoff, reducing flood damage, and filtering sediments before they pollute local streams and estuaries. Stable dunes offer protection from winds and rising tides. How can technology, design, and building practices work in tandem with nature?
ASSISTANCE NEEDED
Living on the Coast will lay the foundation for potential community workshops to develop or document new tools and address other needs. The Web site, which is scheduled for September 2000, is being integrated with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water, Oceans, and Wetlands smart growth Web site and the Center's Coastal Techniques site, which will feature an on-line discussion group to share solutions.
Living on the Coast will highlight model planning, development, and management tools that focus on technique. Please send ideas, techniques, comments, and questions to Caroline Kurrus at caroline.kurrus@noaa.gov.
SOURCES
Berry, Wendell. 1990. What Are People For? North Point Press: New York, New York.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 1990. Years of Population Change Along the Nation's Coast, 1960-2010. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 2000 (on-line). 1999 Coastal Resource Management Customer Survey Summary of Results. Charleston, SC: Coastal Services Center.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 1998 (on-line). NOAA's State of the Coast Report "Managing Coastal Resources. Silver Spring, MD: NOAA.
William McDonough Architects. 1992. The Hannover Principles: Design for Sustainability, New York: William McDonough Architects.
Caroline Kurrus is a contractor for the NOAA Coastal Services Center and received her graduate degree in urban and environmental planning from the University of Virginia in 1995. The mission of the NOAA Coastal Services Center is to foster and sustain the environmental and economic well-being of the nation's coast by linking people, information, and technology. With a strong emphasis on partnerships, the Center works with local, state, and federal officials to identify specific coastal management issues or challenges. The Center helps these organizations by providing access to training, data, or information that was previously unavailable or underutilized. The Center's Web site is www.csc.noaa.gov.
Copyright 2000 By Author
Caroline Kurrus
REMSA, Inc.
contractor, NOAA Coastal Services Center
caroline.kurrus@noaa.gov