cover of adaptation atlas
Science-Based Solutions

To help planners and citizens wrap their head around what to do next in terms of “nature-based” solutions (rather than seawalls) to sea level rise, scientists and planners came up with 30 places to focus around the Bay’s 400-mile shoreline. In this Adaptation Atlas, they identify 30 distinct operational landscape units (or OLUs) that share common physical characteristics. It is in these places, say the experts, we should invest in natural resilience because the units make sense in terms nature’s boundaries, rather the jurisdictional boundaries crisscrossing them with county lines and zoning limits. 

 

30 Sites for Nature-Based Adaptation

Example: Newark Golf Course

A residential development around a new golf course was recently proposed for the Newark shore. Yes, homes by the water can be nice but there aren’t that many undeveloped places left on the bayshore where conditions are appropriate for tidal marsh restoration. The site of the proposed development even has adjacent space at the proper elevation for marshes to bulk up and move upslope naturally as sea level rises, according to the OLU described in the Atlas. Photo: Shire Bezalel

Example: Mowry Slough OLU Near Newark

The Atlas suggests the following … would be appropriate for the area surrounging the golf course and other Mowry slough…

Atlas Co-Author Talks Adaptation

Lead Contacts:

?????, SF Estuary Institute

???, SPUR

Resources

 

Read KneeDeep Stories About the Atlas