InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society > Student Materials > Section 4: Society and Policy Making > Module 12: Sea level rise policy > Summary and Final Tasks
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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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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.

Summary and Final Tasks

At the beginning of this section, we introduced a thought problem: how can policy makers decide who and what to protect from coastal hazards? We also suggested a solution – vulnerability analysis, including consideration of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. While vulnerability analysis is often a helpful first step to understanding who and what to protect, in this module we used the example of long-term planning for sea level rise and related hazards to show how, in practice, decisions about preparing for coastal hazards are often more complicated. Who counts as a stakeholder, and how should they be included in the participatory planning process? How can these stakeholders choose from a long list of sea level rise strategies that may cause complex changes in coupled human-environmental systems? And where and when should these strategies be implemented? Section 4 provides an introduction to these questions. In attempting to answer them, it points towards the importance of policy making based on a rich understanding of the complexities of coastal human and environmental systems and their interactions.

In this course, we have described not only the physical processes that shape (and occasionally threaten) our coastal communities, but also how these communities can come together to prepare for, respond to, and recover from the challenges of coastal hazards. As sea levels continue to rise, these challenges will become increasingly pressing for coastal communities worldwide. Through the course, we hope that you have learned more about these challenges and gained some of the critical thinking and problem solving skills needed to address them.

Reminder - Complete all of the Lesson 12 tasks!

You have reached the end of Lesson 12! Double-check the to-do list on the Lesson 12 Roadmap to make sure you have completed all of the activities listed there.

References and Further Reading

Frazier, T. G., N. Wood, and B. Yarnal. 2010. Stakeholder perspectives on land-use strategies for adapting to climate-change-enhanced coastal hazards: Sarasota, Florida. Applied Geography 30 (4):506–517.

Gibeaut, John. 2006. Up Against the Seawall. ABA Journal Law News Now Magazine. Available at: http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/up_against_the_seawall/

Kahn, Brian. 2012. Superstorm Sandy and Sea Level Rise. Available at: http://www.climate.gov/news-features/features/superstorm-sandy-and-sea-l...

Marshall, Christa. 2014. Massive Seawall May Be Needed to Keep New York City Dry. Scientific American Climate Wire. Available at: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/massive-seawall-may-be-needed-...

NOAA Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. 2007. Multi-pronged Approach to Manage Erosion at Surfer's Point, Ventura, CA.


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 »