Project Portal

Portsmouth Coastal Resilience Initiative

This project utilized consulting services to supplement City staff hours to provide an inventory, analysis and recommendations that were easily integrated into the Master Plan update process (scheduled to start in July 2012), the building code, and the City’s capital improvement plan. This project also utilized scenario planning to explore uncertainty about the future consequences of climate change on the City (both for the short-term and long-term.) This scenario planning approach sought to avoid adverse impacts on the built environment and natural resources by considering a few potential futures (in this case low, medium, and high risk scenarios). Scenario planning for this project incorporated both quantitative and qualitative information in the decision-making process. This process enabled the City to undertake a focused outreach around climate adaptation, without encumbering the Master Plan process.

Project Lead

City of Portsmouth

Funding

NOAA, through the Northeast Regional Ocean Council
$20,000

Time Frame

Start: July 1, 2012
End: August 31, 2013

Portsmouth's South End during King Tide (credit: Kirsten Howard)