Module 1: The Societies and Economics of Coastal Regions

Introduction

In recent years we have heard in the news about a succession of major disasters involving communities around the world located near and at the coast. The names are familiar: Hurricane Katrina (2005), Super Storm Sandy (2012), Super Typhoon Haiyan (2013), the Tsunami of Christmas 2004, and the Japanese Tsunami of 2011. We have become familiar with images on our screens of the devastation and misery that result from these natural disasters.

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Aerial View of Tacloban, Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, November 2013.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons. (UK Department of International Development)

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New York Transportation Authority pump train pumps floodwater from flooded New York Subway following Hurricane Sandy. 2012.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons. Photo Credit: Metropolitan Transportation Authority: MTA New York City Transit / Leonard Wiggins

These are the dramatic examples that underscore the vulnerability* of some of the world's major cities and many smaller communities. Each of these disasters involved inundation of large, densely populated areas – killing hundreds to thousands of people and flooding houses, businesses, schools, hospitals, and crippling infrastructure. Many years are spent in recovery, during which time the eyes of the media turn elsewhere.

Super Storm Sandy seemed to be the event that finally woke us up and brought to the forefront the conversation about ways to address the pressing issues of increasing levels of coastal flood risks faced by major metropolitan areas around the world.

*"Vulnerability" is used loosely here. Later in the course vulnerability will be used in a more specific way.

Some questions we will begin to explore in Unit 1 and continue to explore in later units are:

• What are the underlying causes that make a community more or less vulnerable to these types of damaging events?
• Will disasters like Super Storm Sandy and Hurricane Katrina become more frequent?
• What can communities do to avoid future devastation and protect their residents?

Module 1 of this course will begin to explore these questions. You will use Google Earth, GeoMapApp and other sources to investigate the details of a number of coastal cities considered to be particularly vulnerable and begin to develop your own answers to the question posed above.

The modules that follow will introduce factors related to the geologic processes that have formed our coasts, and the geomorphology, and ecology of coastal areas that contribute to the level of vulnerability of a location. The engineering solutions to the hazards will be considered and the ways in which societies can work to become more resilient to coastal hazards. The social science concepts of vulnerability will be further explored to give a complete picture of the hazards and hazard mitigation in coastal regions around the world.

• Goals and Objectives
• Our Increasingly urbanized coasts and sea level
• Introductory Activities
• Assessments
• Learning Check Point
• Summary and Final Tasks
• City Profiles (Background Information)