Co-Creating Climate Adaptation Pathways in Coastal Cities: A Practical Guide for Engaged Scholars and Urban Designers

As the repercussions of climate change materialize, coastal cities are often at the forefront of experiencing environmental impacts like flooding and storm events. In addition, anthropogenic vulnerability drivers, like industrial activity in the near-shore environment, may accelerate shoreline erosion or nuisance flooding through the loss of natural shoreline buffers and increased ship traffic. This interdisciplinary study applied a participatory mixed-methods approach, co-creating climate change adaptation pathways with community and stakeholder input as a bottom-up task. The aims were to engage in a community dialogue (1) identifying assets and challenges within the natural and built environment based on community input, (2) utilizing a participatory mixed-methods approach to model and quantify selected hazards, and (3) transforming them into adaptation pathways visualized in a comprehensive master plan. The small-town of Ingleside on the Bay, Texas, served as a case study for this project, highlighting how sea-level rise and industrial activity challenge the community, its natural and cultural environment, and the infrastructure within. The outcomes identify anthropogenic vulnerability drivers and propose a concrete list of seven adaptation pathways based on community input. This study helps engaged scholars and decision-makers to activate community members and their knowledge as an integral component of their work, from identifying a problem to developing tangible solutions.