InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society > Student Materials > Selecting Strategies > Non-structural strategies > Other Policy Options
InTeGrate's Earth-focused Modules and Courses for the Undergraduate Classroom
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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The student materials are available for offline viewing below. Downloadable versions of the instructor materials are available from this location on the instructor materials pages. Learn more about using the different versions of InTeGrate materials »

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For the Instructor

These student materials complement the Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society Instructor Materials. If you would like your students to have access to the student materials, we suggest you either point them at the Student Version which omits the framing pages with information designed for faculty (and this box). Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in your course website or local Learning Managment System. Learn more about using, modifying, and sharing InTeGrate teaching materials.
Initial Publication Date: December 8, 2016

Other Policy Options

Coastal communities also have several other non-structural policy options. They can use land-use management – including zoning and flood plain regulations – to limit or prohibit construction of new buildings (or post-disaster reconstruction of old ones) in areas where the risk of flooding due to sea level rise and related hazards is particularly high. Building codes can be used to require all new construction in high-risk areas to adopt specific structural improvements, such as elevating to a specific height on stilts or pilings. Communities can offer residents tax breaks or direct payments to restore natural shoreline protections, elevate or harden their homes or businesses, or move their homes and businesses to safer areas further inland. Communities can also require local real estate agents to disclose a property's potential exposure to sea level rise and related hazards to any potential buyers. Such disclosure requirements can dissuade less risk-tolerant buyers from choosing property near the coast, but it may also reduce the value of property for current coastal landowners.

The next section describes how communities and their stakeholders can use cost-benefit analysis to rule out strategies that are not viable and arrive at a short list of strategies that are both suitable and desirable.

These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »