Tools for Accelerating Coastal Resilience

The Cost of Coastal Inaction in the San Diego Region

The San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

Setting the Stage

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The San Diego Region

Situated between the Pacific Ocean in the west, the desert in the east and with the United States/Mexico border to the south, the San Diego region is defined by its unique natural environment. It is one of the most ecologically, geologically, and culturally rich regions in California. The region is home to 3.3 million people with 19 local governments, including 18 cities and the County, 18 federally recognized Native American reservations represented by 17 Tribal governments, and many special jurisdictions such as the Port of San Diego, the San Diego Association of Governments, San Diego Regional Airport Authority, and the United State Navy, all with an invested interest in its coastlines.

*Mission Bay is one of several locations along the coastline to enjoy the beach.*

San Diego’s stunning 70-mile coastline spans 10 cities and encompasses a broad array of coastal dune, beach, wetland and lagoon habitats. In addition to natural resources, the San Diego coast contains key infrastructure such as major transportation arteries including Amtrak rail lines and historic highways, state parks, seven major military installations, and water and energy infrastructure including power plants and desalination plants.

Pacific Coast Surfliner with ocean in background — *The Pacific Surfliner is a coastal railway that serves stations from Southern San Diego and Northward to San Luis Obispo County.*

A Biodiversity Hotspot

The San Diego region’s ecology is influenced by its Mediterranean climate, which is characterized by warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters – annual precipitation across the region is highly variable. The San Diego region is considered a biodiversity hotspot; housing the highest number of plant and animal species threatened with extinction in the world, it is also the most biodiverse county in the continental US.¹ This may be in part due to San Diego's unique position and proximity to the coastline, mountains, and desert, which subsequently creates ecotones such as estuaries and marshland. This triangulation of biospheres combined with high human activity makes the San Diego region a particularly ecologically vulnerable place for plants and animals alike.

Ridgeway's rail in a salt marsh — *San Diego is home to the Ridgeway's Rail, a bird found exclusively in marsh systems.*

Topographically Rich

Oceanographically, the San Diego region contains three littoral cells that uniquely affect sediment transport and movement: Oceanside Littoral Cell (Dana Point to Oceanside), Mission Bay Littoral Cell (La Jolla to Point Loma), and Silver Strand Littoral Cell (end of Point Loma into Mexico). These cells have varying degrees of coastal erosion and influence the sand supply of the region’s diverse coastlines and coastal ecosystems. Additionally, the San Diego region resides along a series of active fault lines, making it susceptible to earthquakes and tectonic activity. This influences the region’s topographically unique landscape, and helped to develop a series of canyons that stretch across the county, including through the urban landscape and into a submarine canyon system – all influencing the coastline.

Map of La Jolla coastline with submarine canyons — *Sediment transport is uniquely affected by the series of submarine canyons off the San Diego coast.*

Culturally Diverse

Approximately 3.3 million individuals call the San Diego region home. More than one-third of the region’s residents identify as Hispanic/Latine.² This can be attributed to the region’s proximity to Mexico and the San Diego-Tijuana border alliances – 15 million vehicles crossed the US-Mexico border in 2022 alone.³ Additionally, about 37% of San Diegans speak a language other than English in their household⁴ and 23% of residents identified themselves as foreign born, which almost doubles the national average.⁵

Chicano Park murals on overpass pillars — *Chicano Park, located in Logan Heights, is home to the largest concentration of Chicano murals in the world.*

The blending of different cultures through immigration combined with historically oppressive practices such as colonization and redlining have significantly shaped the region’s culture and society. Historical exclusion dates back to the Spanish Inquisition, and the genocide and forceful removal of Indigenous communities from their lands. Before colonization, the Kumeyaay, Luiseno/Payonkawichum, Cahuilla, and Cupeno/Kuupangaxwichen people utilized San Diego's natural resources and land for over 12,000 years.⁶ Now, the San Diego Indigenous people only have 500,000 acres of their original 8.5 million acres of land.⁷ Moreover, red-lining practices during the 1930s created segregated neighborhoods within the region. About 3 ⁄ 4 of historically redlined neighborhoods are considered low- or moderate-income, and 64% of redlined neighborhoods are predominantly racial minorities.⁸ The economic disparities of redlining still impact communities of color today: in San Diego, Black youth are 2.5 times more likely, and Latine youth are 2 times more likely to live in poverty than White youth.

Climate Impacts

84% of San Diego residents believe that climate change is occurring.⁹ The sentiment of residents is reflected in the action the region is taking to create a more sustainable San Diego. All jurisdictions within the San Diego county region have performed a greenhouse gas inventory and all but one have adopted a climate action plan – which elevates our region’s understanding and response to the necessity and urgency for comprehensive planning and action.¹⁰ Additionally, the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative has been working since 2011 to facilitate collaborative action between public and private agencies, academia, philanthropy, nonprofit organizations, and community-based organizations across the region. Collaborative and holistic action is integral to creating sustainable change within the San Diego region.

room full of people looking at a powerpoint presentation — *The Climate Collaborative hosts quarterly networking meetings to bring together climate leaders from the region.*

Greenhouse gas emissions, rising sea levels, and increasing severity and frequency of extreme weather events are among the climate threats that have worsened throughout the recent decades. These impacts have been exacerbated by anthropogenic-driven activity such as habitat fragmentation, destruction, and alteration. Climate risks are intertwined; thus, extreme weather events and climate-related impacts can cause increased risks or failures that influence quality of life factors such as water resources, food production and distribution, energy and transportation, public health, international trade, and more.¹¹

stormy day on the beach, slightly flooded — *Coastal flooding can pose a large threat to infrastructure and natural habitat.*

Since the San Diego region is situated in multiple biospheres, it is also susceptible to several ecosystem-specific climate hazards and stressors. Highlighted below are some of the San Diego region's most prevalent stressors impacted by climate change.

collapsed cliff with sign that says "unstable cliffs, danger, stay back, no public access"

Extreme Heat

As temperatures rise, the uneven distribution of heat throughout the region is becoming an increasingly urgent issue to be addressed. Surfaces that retain high temperatures, such as pavements, roads, and rooftops, combined with insufficient tree canopy cover, can create urban heat islands: subregions of elevated temperature. Due to sustaining and systemic impacts of historical redlining practices, communities most affected by urban heat are those from low-income backgrounds and many identify as BIPOC (or Black, Indigenous, and People of Color); nationally on average, lower-income neighborhoods are 1.5°F hotter than higher-income neighborhoods.¹² Within the City of San Diego specifically, this remains consistent: neighborhoods that were historically a lower neighborhood "grade" are about 4°F hotter on average and only have a 2% tree canopy cover (as compared to 5-7% in higher grade neighborhoods).¹³

blue sign with a polar bear that says "cool zone" — *During the summer months, look out for "Cool Zone" signs, which indicates public cooling centers around the region.*

Higher temperatures increase electricity demand for cooling, which can strain the power grid and potentially lead to practices such as public safety power shutoffs (PSPS), blackouts, and grid failure. Access to cooling centers and the region’s coastal areas that are naturally cooler is integral to sustaining public health and a good quality of life as heat waves intensify in frequency and duration.

In partnership with NASA DEVELOP, the City of San Diego developed an Urban Heat Vulnerability Index. The map to the left displays the Heat Vulnerability Index which considers social and health variables at census tract level as they contribute to heat vulnerability.

By 2100, temperatures in the region are projected to increase by 5-10°F.¹⁴ This rise in temperatures can lead to potentially dangerous living conditions for those without access to cooling centers or other areas that provide refuge. Areas of San Diego that are farther inland do not receive a cooling evening onshore breeze, and have limited mobility to one of nature's cooling centers, the coast.¹⁵ There is also a disparity in racial and economic accessibility to air conditioning (AC): White people and homeowners are more likely to have AC than Hispanic individuals and renters.¹⁶ Additionally, these neighborhoods are generally bordered by highways, which have high impervious surfaces and low tree canopy, which worsen the effects of urban heat islands.¹⁷

Water's Role in the Region

Precipitation plays a key role in the well-being of the region’s residents. As impacts from climate change become more severe, precipitation across the region will remain highly variable. It is forecasted that the region will see greater variability in and prevalence of more intense precipitation events, coupled with periods of more intense and prolonged drought.¹⁸ Flash floods are predicted to become more frequent and water supply will become less reliable if the region does not continue to diversify water sources and improve existing infrastructure. Efforts to ensure sufficient water supply in San Diego have been mainly focused on local reservoirs, such as the San Vicente Reservoir and the Lake Hodges Reservoir, but have recently shifted to incorporate the development of regulations and policies favoring urban stormwater capture more broadly.

yellow sign that says keep out, sewage contaminated water, exposure may cause illness — *Urban runoff that flows into the ocean may contaminate the water and make it unsafe for swimming at the beach.*

Stormwater, or the precipitation that falls over an urban area, when captured can act as an additional potential water supply to meet residential, municipal, or industrial water demands. If not properly managed, uncaptured stormwater can flow through the urban landscape and become polluted urban runoff. Increased high volume precipitation events that are predicted with increased climate change impacts, can induce runoff of harmful pollutants, such as pesticides, heavy metals, and bacteria into the water, putting low lying watersheds at risk. So far, the San Diego region has done an adequate job of conserving water and supportive ecosystems – with 40% of wetland areas under protection. Pollution from extreme rain events in the Tijuana River has already fouled the estuary and San Diego’s southern stretch of beaches with millions of gallons of raw sewage and other toxic contaminants.¹⁹ This is a major water quality challenge the San Diego region faces, exemplified in the constant need to close beaches for three days after rainfall.

Sea Level Rise

As climate-related risks increase, sea level rise and its impact on San Diego's coastlines is a growing concern for the region. San Diego coastline is critical to the region’s prosperity and quality of life, it is also increasingly vulnerable to rising sea levels, coastal storm events, erosion, and ecosystem degradation.

Use NOAA's Sea Level Riser Viewer (left) to visualize coastal flooding impacts at various sea level heights.

In the past 50 years, sea level has increased more than 4 inches in San Diego.²⁰ Sea level rise is projected to be about 1 foot by 2050 in San Diego.²¹ In some coastal areas, the 100-year extreme coastal flood today is projected to occur on an annual basis by 2050. Erosion of coastal bluffs already threatens the accessibility of coastal public access points – including local, regional and state parks critical for recreation and community usage. In addition, storm surge events, often combined or exacerbated by the occurrence of King Tides, has brought about more frequent flooding and inundation to low lying coastal communities.

king tide flooding at Mission Beach neighborhood — *King Tides, or exceptionally high tides during a new or a full moon, can cause flooding, as seen here at Mission Beach.*

In 2017, the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative engaged the Center for the Blue Economy of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey to investigate the potential effects from climate change, specifically implications of sea level rise, and conduct an economic vulnerability assessment . The assessment found that commercial and industrial properties in the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, and Coronado, face significant economic risks from sea level rise-related flooding and are the most economically vulnerable in the county. The study also concluded that storms likely to occur every year (1-year storms) coupled with 2 meters of sea level rise will make 1800 establishments, 32,000 jobs, $4.0 billion sales and $4.3 billion GDP vulnerable.

Collapsed cliff that has been blocked off by ticker tape — *Flooding can also dislodge sediment and cause coastal erosion, as seen at Blacks Beach Bluff.*

The safety and reliability of railway tracks and major roadway infrastructure vital to passenger and freight transit is a point of urgency as the intensity of coastal erosion and storm surge events worsens in the San Diego region. The North Coastal Corridor Program is a 40-year program to address regional transportation relocation and improvements in the face of sea level rise.²² As individual communities grapple with how to plan for greater risk and damages to infrastructure from coastal flooding, annual storm surges, and king tides, there is growing recognition of the need for regionally-scaled, inter-jurisdictional collaboration.

The benefit-multiplying effect of regionally-scaled approaches to planning are well documented, as are the potential negative impacts of misaligned or locally-specific planning without regional coordination. This project serves to operationalize tangible opportunities to regionally align climate action planning efforts through the implementation of policies and projects that demonstrate measurable benefits in reducing vulnerabilities to local climate change impacts. Now is the time to advance concrete actions by assessing regional assets for coastal resilience, developing communications to build public awareness and engagement, and developing a roadmap for advancing regional resilience.

A Region Defined by the Coast

Redefining our Coastal Communities

Approximately 40% of the United States' population, or roughly 127 million people, were reported living in a coastal county.²³ From the outside, sea level rise and coastal resilience issues may seem to exclusively affect coastal communities, or those living and/or working within close proximity to the ocean. However, coastal climate-related impacts have rippling effects that affect inland communities as well. Sea level rise also causes groundwater to rise, which can cause inland flooding, as well as saltwater and toxic contaminant intrusion into freshwater supply. These events greatly affect the well-being of multiple, far-reaching communities, the integrity of critical infrastructure, and the health and safety of other natural resources.

beach with memorial sign that says "Bruce's Beach" — Bruce's Beach was a Black beach resort at Manhattan Beach that opened in 1912 to benefit the Black community during racial segregation and was eventually taken by the city of Manhattan Beach Council in 1924. In 2022, it was returned to the Bruce family, who ultimately decided to sell the beach back to the county in early 2023.

Defining who is affected by coastal issues is complex: it requires decision makers and scientists to understand who belongs to a "coastal community" and how historical inequities may influence and intersect the boundaries of such a community. It is well documented that systemic practices, colonization, and historical redlining have dictated where people of color and Indigenous tribes live in reference to the coast, and these boundaries and their consequences persist today.

Data and research support that BIPOC communities are disproportionately affected by coastal issues; nearly 60% of the population of US coastal cities identify as BIPOC, which is higher than the national average of 37%.²⁴ Historically redlined areas in San Diego such as the community of City Heights in the City of San Diego, and parts of the Cities of El Cajon and Escondido have large immigrant communities with lower-than-average median household incomes and are often neglected from investment due to pipelines of funding that favored white neighborhoods.²⁵

Arial image of the city of imperial beach at sunset — *Many of San Diego's coastal communities are low lying and subject to downstream pollution impacts. Beaches in the City of Imperial Beach, saw 249 days of sewage pollution notices and closures.*

However, in the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative's coastal resilience survey, issued in 2021, when asked to identify projects that address work to dismantle historic inequities in relation to coastal resilience, 81% of respondents knew of "no projects" or only a "couple projects" to that end. Projects that directly address marginalized communities, such as providing accessible transportation to access coastal spaces and providing increased funding for new and existing outreach and education programs, are crucial when holistically addressing coastal resilience.

Despite these survey results, solutions are around the corner and are already happening within the San Diego region. For instance, communities in the City of Imperial Beach are one of the most vulnerable in California to sea level rise due to its low-lying location and being surrounded by coastal landscapes along three borders, leaving it susceptible to frequent flooding during extreme tides and winter swells.

Arial photo of the Imperial Beach pier. — The City of Imperial Beach is home to one of our region's many multi-use ocean piers - these boast places for recreation, businesses and the opportunity to interact with our coastlines in a unique way.

The Bayshore Bikeway Resiliency Project is a city-led project that retrofits 1.2 miles of bike path that provides both shelter and protection to Imperial Beach residents. The bike path creates a buffer to provide flood protection while simultaneously creating a bike path for residents who would like to bike along the coast and beach.²⁶ Nature-based solutions that have both environmental and social benefits are multi-beneficial to approaching coastal resilience and improving the accessibility and quality of life for local residents.

Biker biking along a two way path with sign that says "bayshore bikeway"

The Value of our Coastlines

San Diego provides a unique opportunity for youth to connect with the coast and ocean. Christiana DeBenedict, San Diego Foundation

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The San Diego coastline is a major defining feature that is vital to the region’s economical, social, and biological prosperity. The coastline greatly contributes to San Diego residents’ quality of life as it provides a natural recreational space in which the region's culture is able to thrive. Defining the intrinsic as well as extrinsic value of the coastline is critical to understanding the importance of implementing coastal resilience measures.

A Stream of Income

Climate impacts, including extreme weather events, are more likely to damage infrastructure and ecosystems near and along the coast and exacerbate existing challenging conditions. These stressors, which build up over time, will harm critical properties, labor productivity, and the general vitality of communities - specifically in agriculture, tourism, and fisheries that rely on favorable weather conditions and consistent accessibility.²⁷

Cars lined up in lanes to get to a checkpoint kiosk — *Annually, over 10 million personal cars pass through the San Ysidro Port of Entry to cross the US-Mexico border.*

Nationally, coastal jobs support approximately 58.3 million jobs and contribute $9.5 trillion, or nearly half, of the country’s GDP annually.²⁸ The coastal San Diego region and Baja California, Mexico generate a bi-regional GDP of $250 billion, with an estimated $70 billion and 90 million people flowing through the border each year.²⁹ The San Diego region relies heavily on tourism to its beaches and coastal recreation areas, with visitors spending $11.6 billion annually.³⁰ Across San Diego’s 70 miles of coastline, a 2-meter rise in sea level could threaten over 2,600 establishments, 49,000 jobs, a net loss of $8.0 billion in sales annually, and a loss of $6.1 billion in contribution to GDP due to flooding.³¹ The variability of climate impacts makes it difficult to properly quantify the economic loss and damages sea level rise will have in the region. However, ensuring action, coordination, and implementation of diverse coastal resilience projects and strategies will support the continued economic prosperity and recreational value of San Diego.

bird's eye view of the Port of San Diego — *The Port of San Diego houses 34 miles of waterfront from Downtown San Diego into South San Diego County.*

San Diego also has a large maritime, water, and BlueTech industry that generates economic value for the region – collectively, 4,320 businesses generated $16.2 billion and employed over 114,000 people, making up 5% of the business establishments and 9% of total employment in San Diego County in 2020.³² Globally, more than 90% of trade utilizes sea routes and is a source of jobs for millions of people.³³ With increased storm surges and coastal flooding, these routes may become less accessible and port infrastructure may be at risk, leading to great losses in livelihood and economic stability regionally and worldwide.

San Diego’s recreational spaces range from natural ecological landscapes to water parks. Torrey Pines State Reserve and the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve are two protected natural spaces that are key resources for outdoor recreation. Mission Bay is a man-made bay that replaced much of the existing natural wetlands in the area to make way for waterways and residential development, and is the largest water park in the nation, making it a hub for jet skiers, boaters, and lovers of the beach.

Jet skis lined up at the dock — *Mission Bay is the home to different types of aquatic recreation.*

In 2019, over 35 million tourists visited San Diego, making it one of the top travel destinations in the US; about 85% of these visits were for leisure.³⁴ The tourism and recreation industries are the most vulnerable to sea level rise in San Diego; more than 3,000 businesses in the accommodations industry (including hotels, motels, short-term rentals, etc.) are vulnerable to sea level rise impacts such as flooding and inundation.³⁵ With both public and private property and recreation directly adjacent to the coastline, it is important our region thinks critically about how we can protect both the coast and the communities that utilize and live in it.

kayakers entering the mouth of the "Clam Cave" in La Jolla, CA

Culturally Crucial

Consistent with much of California, the region’s Indigenous tribes have been historically removed from coastal areas. Before colonization, the Kumeyaay, Luiseno/Payonkawichum, Cahuilla, and Cupeno/Kuupangaxwichen people utilized and have been living on the region’s coastal lands for over 12,000 years.³⁶ For instance, the migratory Kumeyaay people would seasonally utilize different spaces of land from coast to desert as different resources became available.³⁷

Map of historical Kumeyaay lands — *Historic Kumeyaay Territory (1796-2000).*

Due to the Spanish establishing a colonial practice of agricultural and ranching economies in California, tribes were forced off their ancestral land and barred from managing the land, causing the mass extinction and degradation of native ecosystems that held necessary, inherent cultural value to the Kumeyaay people.³⁸ In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo established the present-day US-Mexico border, forcefully separating many indigenous communities from their families across Border lines and essentially cutting the Kumeyaay territory in half. It took the Kumeyaay border Task Force in 1998 – 150 years – to reunite Mexico-living Kumeyaay members with US-living ones by negotiating passports and visas.³⁹ Now, San Diego’s Indigenous people only have 500,000 acres of their original 8.5 million acres of land, none of which includes access to the coast.

Regardless of what further enhanced problems any organization chooses to tackle, it will never be enough if we can not end these systems of oppression. Tai Gomez, Yaquis Divers

Explore what Tai Gomez of Yaquis Divers has to say about Indigenous voices and climate change in this video.

Overall, Californians acknowledge and are concerned about climate change and the consequences a changing climate holds for their quality of life. 69% of Californians believe that the effects of climate change have already begun, so there is no doubt that swift, immediate action must be taken to mitigate climate shocks and stressors.⁴⁰ In the context of the coastline, around half of Californians believe that the conditions of California's ocean and beaches are crucial for California's future, further supporting that the Californian coast is a valuable asset.⁴¹

Home For All Organisms

California's coast and ocean are among our most treasured resources – the productive, biodiverse ecosystems located here are central to California's and San Diego’s identity, culture, and economy. Biologically, San Diego's coastal ecosystems, both on land and in the water, serve as critical nursery and spawning sites to several commercially important marine species, ranging from fish to oysters. Wetlands and marshes, such as Kendall Frost Marsh and the Tijuana River Estuary, provide sanctuary to native and migratory birds, plants, rodents, and fish. The rich biodiversity attracts enthusiasts and researchers of all kinds. The need to safeguard the long-term health of California's marine life was recognized by the California Legislature in 1999 with the passage of the Marine Life Protection Act – since its passing, the San Diego region now houses 11 Marine Protected Areas, 4 of which are in estuarine systems.

looking up to the surface, kelp forest — *Kelp forests serve as habitat and food for organisms that live in San Diego's ocean.*

San Diego is home to several complex watershed, canyon and creek systems that provide habitat, space for recreation, and serve as an important corridor to the coast. Historically, much of the region’s native wetlands created a natural buffer and protected coastal shorelines from erosion and flooding; however, since the early 1900’s more than 90% of California’s wetlands have been lost to urban development.

Protecting the biodiversity of San Diego’s coastlines is also tied to the region’s economic stability. Loss of biodiversity is extremely detrimental to the economy– according to the World Economic Forum, about $44 trillion, or over half of, global gross domestic product relies on nature.⁴² When it comes to conservation and restoration, only about 14% of global investments address these issues within the private sector.⁴³ Insurers could potentially be a leader in increasing investments in biodiversity efforts in reaching 2030 global climate and biodiversity targets.

large round concrete spheres with holes in them on the beach — *Living shorelines with native oysters is one of the many pilot conservation projects that the Port of San Diego has underway.*

Nature-based solutions and restoration activities can provide a direct positive economic benefit – it was calculated that 227 acres of native wetland restored by ReWild Mission Bay would create a carbon sink estimated to value at around $20,000-$70,000 a year in carbon credits.⁴⁴ Additionally, the San Diego Port's Pond 20 project, a 76.5 acre coastal wetland habitat mitigation bank, is anticipated to diversify and strengthen the Port's portfolio by creating revenue which will go toward future public investment projects and maintenance around the bayfront and its surrounding communities.⁴⁵

Just because wetlands are preserved on a map doesn’t mean they are functioning as best as they can, which is why programs like ReWild Mission Bay are so important in getting the community to value and maintain these habitats. Andrew Meyer, Audubon Society

Bringing the Coast to Life

As our climate changes, so do the experiences of the individuals across the region. In the following video, local leaders shaping solutions for coastal resilience tell their stories of the ways in which the San Diego region has shaped their work on coastal resilience.

Regional partners and leaders share their insight on the integrated values that having a resilient coastline will have on all communities across San Diego. Leaders in the region agree that true coastal resilience in the region embraces the multi-sectoral worth of our coastlines and the multiple benefits that will come with their improved resilience.

Driving Regional Action

Leveraging Multiple Benefits

It is crucial for us to understand and take inventory of the various impacts climate change can have on the San Diego region to fully grasp the value of multiple and compounding benefits of coastal resilience. Visualizing the diverse ways in which our communities and regions are impacted by climate-related stressors will burgeon our understanding of the multi-sectoral implications San Diego faces as practitioners and decision makers move to invest and implement adaptation projects. Ideally, understanding the cost of inaction will help support the improvement of risk and vulnerability assessments, help allocate resources effectively to support multi-benefit projects, and encourage policymakers to make well informed decisions that consider the long-term benefits of coastal resilience.

Prioritizing the value of both the direct and indirect benefits of enhanced coastal resilience is critical for:

Elevating habitat restoration projects support diverse ecosystems, prioritize enhanced biodiversity and foster partnerships across our multi-national bioregion
Supporting local, regional, state and federal agencies to have the capacity to foster multi-jurisdictional coordination to implement projects and processes that support adaptation and resilience to climate impacts at a regional scale
Ensuring infrastructure projects are designed, engineered and implemented to help safeguard communities against coastal flooding, supporting the reliability of critical services, shielding property and improving community access and regional connectivity to the coast
Diversifying and strengthening our understanding of climate risk and vulnerability to inform policies and emerging mechanisms, such as insurance, that leads to funding reallocation and improved adaptation strategies
Leveraging innovative resilience projects that promote green and localized investments that lead to sustainable industries, new employment opportunities and improve social mobility to advance a climate resilient future
Prioritize opportunities that bring communities together, emphasize wellbeing and center community participation to allow San Diegan's a new voice and pathways to retain and improve the region’s quality of life.

Regional Action & Supporting Coastal Initiatives

The California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) Strategic Plan to Protect California’s Coasts 2020-2025 plan highlights the need for advancing focused, high-value interagency collaboration to meet the goals of the plan. It also calls for an increase in collaboration and partnerships among agencies on the frontlines of regulating, funding, and developing policies that guide coastal actions. Enhancing coastal resilience is not only intrinsically valuable for protecting San Diego’s diverse coastal ecosystems, but also for the long-term economic livelihood of communities along the region's most vulnerable coastlines. Ensuring regional coastal resilience projects are designed, financed and built through this work is a key outcome.

people sitting around a table outside, discussing — *In 2021, the Climate Collaborative hosted an Oceanside Littoral Cell Convening to discuss coastal resilience.*

Working groups like the long-standing SANDAG Shoreline Preservation Working Group collaborate to address these issues.⁴⁶ Within this working group, members have created four policy documents that have led the region's approaches to shoreline erosion: The Shoreline Preservation Strategy for the San Diego Region, The Sand Retention Strategy, Sand Compatibility and Opportunistic Use Program Plan, and Coastal Regional Sediment Plan. Additionally, the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative’s Sea Level Rise Working Group provides resources, discussion, and networking opportunities for local leaders to talk about coastal resilience in the region.

The San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative alongside Resilient Cities Catalyst (RCC) and CivicWell have partnered to develop a San Diego Coastal Resilience Roadmap. This comprehensive document outlines the important work being led by local jurisdictions, public agencies, nonprofits and community based organizations to support the region's pathway to coastal resilience. The Roadmap is appended to include an Actions Database–an exhaustive list of projects, programs and strategies to facilitate accelerated action for coastal resilience and direct investments to the region.

Members of the Regional Coastal Resilience Ambassadors Program came together to support and inform regional efforts

As a first step in developing San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative's community-led Coastal Resilience Roadmap , the team developed an analysis aimed at better understanding the current and potential roles of key regional stakeholders in building a more resilient coastal region. The Network Analysis, aims to illustrate and describe existing connections, perceptions and activities between institutions, agencies and actors across the region. The goal of this analysis was to better understand how the region is organized, identify efficacies in collaborative partnerships and relationships, and illuminate any gaps in investment and planning.

You can dive deeper into the Coastal Resilience Roadmap as well as its accompanying Actions Database and Network Analysis Story Map here.

people gathered around a large poster with sticky notes on it

Tools & Research Database

The San Diego region benefits from having access to an existing suite of resources developed to aid and support coastal resilience efforts for education, planning, and implementation alike. Explore interactive mapping tools, databases, and educational materials that support a broad range of coastal resilience planning efforts. New tools, research and supportive materials are added regularly to this database.

The tools and research are separated into 4 categories:

Knowledge-Building Reports: These recent reports are crucial for gaining foundational knowledge on coastal resilience both within the San Diego Region and beyond
Maps & Models: These tools include map layer data and interactive maps that model sea level rise and its impacts
Databases: These websites house other useful tools surrounding coastal resilience
Project Builders: These interactive tools help in planning, executing, and implementing projects related to coastal resilience

Utilize the right and left aligned arrows in the sidecar below to scroll through each content area to access the tools

Knowledge-Building Reports

Rising Tides of Resilience : This Story Map provides an overview of blue carbon, its benefits, and how restoring it would affect California's most vulnerable communities. This report offers several case studies on blue carbon successes throughout California, as well as relevant policy that is being tracked on the matter. This report is recommended for those who want to have a high-level understanding of blue carbon and its benefits throughout the state.

Communities Use a Planning Framework to Identify Investments in Nature-Based Projects : This report by NOAA's Digital Coast provides insight on how communities used Scaling Up Nature-Based Solutions (SUNS), a regional resiliency planning framework, to create a prioritized portfolio of nature-based solution investments. Chris Shepard, director of science at The Nature Conservancy, led the effort and describes the process she and partners used to help Florida Panhandle communities.

State of California Sea Level Rise Guidance (2024 Update) : The California Ocean Protection Council adopted this guidance document, providing updated science and policy recommendations that will help California coastal communities and ecosystems build resilience to the impacts of sea level rise. The document is the result of thorough review and research, public input, and a consolidation of findings to help California communities prepare and adapt to rising sea levels in the next century and beyond. Most notably, the guidance document finds that seas will likely rise by nearly a foot by 2050 and potentially up to twelve feet by 2150, with coastal storms and high tides compounding flooding, erosion, and groundwater challenges. The latest update builds on a previous draft released in 2018.

Climate-Driven Relocation for Coastal Cities: Principles and Recommendations : This policy brief, developed by Urban Ocean Lab, offers recommendations to climate-driven relocation. In viewing climate-driven relocation from an equity lens, the practices suggested are comprehensive, proactive, and justice-centered. These recommendations help policymakers and planners prepare for retreat and relocation to ensure community equity and safety.

The Fifth National Climate Assessment: Key Findings and Recommendations for Coastal Cities : This memo, developed by Urban Ocean Lab, summarizes key findings and actionable policy recommendations to shift to transformative adaption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and prioritieze equity0centered approaches to climate action, especially in the geographic context of the coast. These recommendations will enable policymakers to more effectively address climate risks to secure a resilient and climate-ready future for coastal cities.

US Global Change Research Program - Fifth National Climate Change Assessment: This climate change assessment report summarizes several findings on a national and regional level regarding sea level rise, wildfires, greenhouse gas emissions, and other climate hazards. This report is crucial for anyone who wants to know the condition of the planet in regards to climate change. The goal of the national assessments are to help inform decisions, and facilitate international research coordination.

California Coastal Adaptation Planning Inventory : The California Coastal Adaptation Planning Inventory is a resource that contains information about the progress in addressing the challenges posed by rising sea levels along California’s coastline. The primary aim of this inventory project is to facilitate and inform decision-making in coastal adaptation planning, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that there are practical plans in place to address future sea-level rise across California’s entire coastline, thus enhancing coastal resilience.

Sea Level Rise Technical Report : This report by NOAA covers the impacts and causes of sea level rise on a regional and global scale, as well as explores future scenarios of rising sea level on a short-term and long-term time scale. This is a quintessential report for those working in coastal resilience.

Adapting Stormwater Management for Coastal Flood : This website by NOAA provides background information to help understand the impacts of flooding and its implications, and provides guidance on policy and on ground actions. Community organizations can use this website to determine how the flooding of the present and future can affect stormwater systems and generate reports that can be used to display local information about current and future flooding impacts and to inform planning efforts.

Maps & Models

Understanding the Intersection of Climate Risk, Food System Resilience, and Racial Equity: A County-Level Data Tool: This pilot data tool is designed to give changemakers key data they need to demonstrate the intersections between climate risk, food systems, and racial equity and effectively target resources to communities that face the starkest challenges in climate risk and recovery. This tool is a pilot effort to understand these intersections and our team hopes to collaborate with communities, changemakers, and policymakers to empower localities with data to better support food system resilience.

NOAA's ENOW Explorer: This tool streamlines the task of obtaining and comparing economic data, both county, state, and territories, for the six sectors dependent on the ocean and Great Lakes: living resources, marine construction, marine transportation, offshore mineral resources, ship and boat building, and tourism and recreation. This tool is ideal for practitioners who want to explore the economic intersections of coastal resilience

C-CAP High-Resolution Land Cover : This 1-meter resolution land cover data product replaces its 30-meter predecessor, making it 900 times more detailed. This data can be used to model sea level rise and storm water management and includes impervious surfaces, tree canopy, and water features. This data also allows year-to-year comparisons, making it an extremely detailed tool both spatially and temporally.

Coastal Resilience Evaluation and Sitting Tool (CREST) : This action-forward interactive mapping tool created by National Fish & Wildlife Foundation identifies resilience hubs, or areas of open space where projects may have the greatest potential to benefit both human community resilience and fish and wildlife. This tool is useful for planners who are looking to start a resilience project within their jurisdictions and want to locate where projects can yield multi-benefit results. Additionally, CREST improves data accessibility by providing downloadable datasets to support practitioners’ climate adaptation planning around the region.

Healthy Places Index : The California Healthy Places Index (HPI), created by the Southern California Public Health Alliance, is an interactive tool that visualizes and quantifies the health of residents in California based on data and social conditions that drive access, quality, community, and equity. This tool views the health of residents through the lens of place and race and aims to showcase resident health outcomes. This tool is ideal for practitioners looking to implement projects, policies, and programs to promote climate resiliency, implement resilience hubs, and revitalize communities that have been historically disinvested. HPI allows practitioners to visualize where climate solutions can have a comprehensive impact.

Environmental Mapping Tools and Data :This database, hosted by CalEPA, includes a variety of environmental mapping tools and data. These tool topics include health screening, water, heat, pollution, projects, and groundwater and would be useful for researching California climate hazards.

Disaster and Risk Mapping : This NOAA website pinpoints disaster risk by county. It visualizes frequency and cost billion-dollar events as well as local vulnerability. This is useful for making cost-benefit analyses and mapping the cost of disaster on a state-level.

National Risk Index : This map, created by FEMA, visualizes a risk index, expected annual loss, social vulnerability, or community resilience by county or by census tracts. Once a region is selected, users can create a report to dive into more detail or compare with another region. This tool would be useful for prioritizing risk in a particular region.

NOAA Coastal County Snapshots : This tool by NOAA provides a localized interactive experience that summarizes relevant coastal data for practitioners with particular information related to coastal communities and their economy. The tool allows you to filter data by county and provides statistics and maps that quantify the value of coastlines for jurisdictions and the potential cost, loss and impact sea level rise and flooding can have on the local population. The county snapshot also quantifies the population at risk to the impacts of sea level rise and allows planners and local practitioners to identify what communities and facilities are most vulnerable to prioritize during coastal resilience planning and implementation efforts.

Our Coast, Our Future : OCOF is an interactive tool for scenario planning developed by Point Blue Conservation Science. This tool will help you understand and visualize the impacts of sea level rise, coastal storms and erosion hazards. OCOF features the Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS), a USGS peer reviewed interactive hazard map to explore various scenarios around the region. This tool also includes case studies along the California coast where communities have used OCOF and CoSMoS for their climate adaptation planning. Planners should use this for scenario mapping and modeling future sea level rise, coastal storm and flooding hazards.

NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer : This user-friendly interactive map visualizes sea level rise, as well as local scenarios and also includes marsh migration, high tide flooding, and mapping confidence. The purpose of this screening-level tool is to provide a preliminary look at sea level rise and coastal flooding impacts using the highest accuracy elevation data sets available at the time maps were produced. Additionally, it includes photo stimulations of how future flooding might impact local landmarks, as well as data related to water depth, connectivity, flood frequency, socio-economic vulnerability, wetland loss and migration, and mapping confidence. This tool is ideal for practitioners looking to visualize potential impacts from sea level rise through maps and photos.

General Plan Guidelines Data Mapping Tools : This database from the Governor's Office of Planning and Research contains open source mapping data including administrative boundaries, land use, traffic patterns, open spaces, conservation, and health data. The data can be mapped on the website and exported directly; this flexible tool is useful for quick mapping of multiple layers.

Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper : The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper is an interactive mapping tool that offers a community-based approach to assessing coastal hazards, flooding risks, and vulnerabilities. It allows users to map and scale different flooding and sea level rise scenarios on a national scale concerning infrastructure and ecosystem exposure. The maps show data on the people, places, and natural resources exposed to coastal flooding. This is a useful tool for those who want to look at the social and environmental intersections of coastal resilience, especially on an infrastructure level.

Understanding Stormwater Inundation : This NOAA website provides a quick overview of the basics of coastal flooding and its potential impacts on stormwater management and communities. The website allows users to visualize different scenarios of flooding by including compounding parameters beyond stormwater inundation such as sea level rise, king tides and waves to help practitioners gauge water levels under varying conditions. Most importantly, the site offers great resources to support coastal management including considerations for stormwater, floodplain, land use planners and public works staff. This tool is ideal for planners looking to understand what water levels will cause coastal flooding, as well as forecast when flooding conditions are most likely to occur in order to assess and measure the consequent risks.

Cal OES MyHazards : This tool maps flood risk of different areas as well as supplementary material on what flood risk is. MyHazards is a tool where users may enter an address in order to discover hazards in their area. The map targets the location and then presents information on the risks identified within the search radius and recommended actions. MyHazards is a tool for the general public that provides general information on hazards in specific areas.

ACIS Climate Maps : This interactive map made by the High Plains Regional Climate Center maps out precipitation and temperature features nationally and regionally. This map provides a quick snapshot at different temporal and spatial scales for visualizing the drought and heat status of the area of interest.

Hazard Exposure Reporting and Analysis (HERA) : Created by the USGS, this website features two interactive maps that map out coastal flooding and groundwater rise effects by sea level rise. The maps also have residential, economic, and infrastructure data that can be overlaid on top of projected sea level rise. Professionals working to mitigate flooding in communities would benefit from this mapping too.

Candidate Resilience Hub Mapping Tool (beta) : This interactive mapping tool by PSE Healthy energy maps population vulnerability indicators and identifies climate hazards such as extreme heat, poor air quality and PSPS as well as identifies buildings that could serve as potential resilience hub sites. Projects with the intent of tackling extreme heat and looking to improve cooling zones within vulnerable communities can greatly benefit from this tool.

Coastal Resilience Mapping Portal: The Coastal Resilience is a program focused on exploring how nature can help decrease the risk of coastal flooding. Their goal is to create a global community of experts who work together to promote strategies for reducing the impact of natural disasters and adapting to climate changes in coastal areas. This program includes an online mapping tool that is interactive, allowing users to access information about projects their program has implemented on restoration or conservation globally. This map shows projects they’ve done in Australia, Caribbean, Indonesia, Mexico and Central America, and the United States, increasing awareness of conservation efforts and training more countries in Coastal Resilience planning and action.

Databases

Urban Ocean Lab Resource Hub: This database, compiled by the Urban Ocean Lab, contains hundreds of vetted resources from case studies and datasets, to sample legislation and policy memos to help coastal cities better adapt to climate risks. With multiple filtering types, this open-access hub is a good place for any coastal professional to explore and begin their journey in coastal policy.

Racial Equity Resource Hub : This database compiled by the California Strategic Growth Council contains resources to guide work on racial equity. This toolbox provides resources that showcase and highlight the connection between historical oppression and climate impacts. This database contains interactive maps, story maps, and websites that lead to valuable information and context on how pollution, homelessness, public health, accessibility, and climate change burdens certain communities more than others in California. The Racial Equity Resource Hub is a great site for planners and practitioners looking to plan equitable programs and policies that improve accessibility, quality of life, and resilience in their jurisdictions.

Cal-Adapt : This database from the Geospatial Innovation Facility, UC Berkeley contains climate tools, data, and resources. The tools contain interactive maps pertaining to different aspects of climate change. Cal-Adapt offers free public access to peer-reviewed data that support exploration of California’s climate change impacts on state infrastructure, communities, and natural resources. It includes datasets portraying sea level rise, wildfires, droughts, storms, and extreme heat events. Cal-Adapt is a good resource for municipal planners, community-based organizations, state agencies, climate experts, educators, and interested participants from the general public who are looking for information portraying climate change in California.

Advanced Hydrological Prediction Services : This database run by NOAA provides flooding forecasts based on data collected by the NWS forecast offices and centers. This database would be good for infrastructure planning around high precipitation and flooding areas.

Project Builders

Adapting to Rising Tides (ART) Portfolio : This website by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission is split into three sections: findings, projects, and how-to's. The website is a place to find guidance, tools, and information that have been developed, tested, and refined by the ART Program to address climate change.

US Climate Resilience Toolkit : This database contains general climate resilience tools that can filter by topic, region, date, function, and steps of resilience. The Toolkit is designed to help people find and use tools, information, and subject matter expertise to build climate resilience using information from all across the U.S. federal government. The goal is to improve people’s ability to understand and manage climate-related risks and opportunities and to help make communities and businesses more resilient to extreme events. The Toolkit is especially useful for those in community organizations looking for information pertaining to building resilience to extreme events.

Sea The Future : This database compiles sea level rise tools and datasets together. The website features a filter and compare tool in which two or three tools can be compared at a time based on general information, data availability, and strengths and limitations. This would be beneficial for planners or researchers who want to explore tools and resources.

Climate Central's Surging Seas Map & Tools : This toolkit provides foundational knowledge on sea level rise and coastal flood hazards. The comprehensive set of user-friendly maps and tools offer tailored local information to better understand and respond to the risks of sea level rise and coastal flooding. You can also access datasets to assess the risk of annual flooding, locate areas vulnerable to sea level rise, and explore modeled sea level rise projections to support coastal planning.

FloodRISE : This website created by UC Irvine contains resources about flood hazards and a mapping tool that visualizes floods in the Tijuana River Valley. The map's legend offers easily comparable flood heights by using body measurements in addition to feet. Professionals working in the Tijuana River Valley area can use this tool to map potential flood areas.

Flood Risk Communication Toolkit for Community Officials : This FEMA guide contains different examples of how to communicate flood risk, adaptation, mitigation, and preparation through different media including social media posts, blogs, podcasts, and fact sheets. This tool is useful for organizations looking to do outreach and education on flooding.

Coastal Restoration Toolkit : This estuarine restoration-focused tool breaks up coastal restoration into several categories, including coastal flooding, water quality, and wildlife habitats. For each category, the website provides project examples, tools, contacts, funding resources, and permitting information. Organizations working on estuarine pilot projects would benefit most from this tool.

Assess Flood Risks : This NOAA Flood Assessment Tool facilitates the calculation of current and future coastal flood frequency and impacts at user-defined thresholds. It offers useful data to inform decision-making. Users can create their own assessment that allows them to customize location, amount of sea level rise, number of high tide flooding days, and the model of sea level rise projection. This is a flexible tool that is good for planners who want a quick overview of sea level rise in their area.

Forest Service Climate Risk Viewer : This tool contains information that is useful in identifying wildfire and climate change-driven vulnerabilities as well as potential threats and risks to the National Forest System. The Forest Service Climate Risk Viewer can be used by resource managers who are in the process of determining the need for climate adaptation as well as for enhancing current adaptation practices to maintain valued resources.

References

1. California's Fourth Climate Change Assessment. 2018. San Diego County Ecosystems: Ecological Impacts of Climate Change on a Biodiversity Hotspot.

2. United States Census Bureau. 2021. San Diego County, California Census Quick Facts.

3. Equinox Quality of Life Dashboard, Traffic Congestion.

4. United States Census Bureau. 2021. San Diego County, California Census Quick Facts.

5. DataUSA: San Diego County, California

6. San Diego Food System Alliance. 2022. Uprooting Segregation Through Our Food System.

7. Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. Kumeyaay History .

8. San Diego Food System Alliance. 2022. Uprooting Segregation Through Our Food System.

9,10. San Diego, 2050 Is Calling. How Will We Answer?

11. U.S. Global Research Program. 2018. Fourth National Climate Assessment

12. Hannah Melville-Rea, “ Heat Amplifies Racial Inequality in US Cities ,” Data, 2021.

13. Groundwork San Diego. Climate Safe Neighborhoods.

14. Kalansky, Julie, Dan Cayan, Kate Barba, Laura Walsh, Kimberly Brouwer, Dani Boudreau. (University of California, San Diego). 2018. San Diego Summary Report. California's Fourth Climate Change Assessment

15. NASA DEVELOP. 2021. Urban Heat Islands and its Risk in San Diego, CA.

16. Guirguis, K., Basu, R., Al-Delaimy, W. K., Benmarhnia, T., Clemesha, R. E. S., Corcos, I., et al. (2018). Heat, disparities, and health outcomes in San Diego County's diverse climate zones. GeoHealth, 2, 212– 223.

17. NASA DEVELOP. 2021. Urban Heat Islands and its Risk in San Diego, CA.

18. Kalansky, Julie, Dan Cayan, Kate Barba, Laura Walsh, Kimberly Brouwer, Dani Boudreau. (University of California, San Diego). 2018. San Diego Summary Report. California's Fourth Climate Change Assessment .

19. Equinox Quality of Life Dashboard, Beach & Coastal Health

20. Equinox Quality of Life Dashboard, Water Quality

21. Kalansky, Julie, Dan Cayan, Kate Barba, Laura Walsh, Kimberly Brouwer, Dani Boudreau. (University of California, San Diego). 2018. San Diego Summary Report. California's Fourth Climate Change Assessment

22. I-5 North Coast Corridor Public Works Plan/Transportation and Resource Enhancement Program (NCC PWP/TREP)

23, 24. Linsmayer, Lauren, Lara Croushore, Jenisha Shrentha, Sheetal Shah, Megan Davis, Jean Flemma, and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. 2022. By the numbers: definition, demographics, and climate risks of US coastal cities. Urban Ocean Lab.

25. San Diego Food System Alliance. 2022. Uprooting Segregation Through Our Food System.

26. Roberts, Annie. 2022. From Statewide Visions to Local Decisions: Implementing Big Picture Sea Level Rise Goals in South San Diego Ba y. UC San Diego Capstone Projects.

27. U.S. Global Research Program. 2018. Fourth National Climate Assessment

28. Linsmayer, Lauren, Lara Croushore, Jenisha Shrentha, Sheetal Shah, Megan Davis, Jean Flemma, and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. 2022. By the numbers: definition, demographics, and climate risks of US coastal cities. Urban Ocean Lab.

29. Binational Resilience Initiative

30. San Diego Industry Research

31. San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative & Center for the Blue Economy at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. 2019. Regional Economic Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise in San Diego .

32. Rouleau, T., Adkins, J., Boudrias, M., Croom, S. 2022. The San Diego Maritime, Water and Bluetechn Economy in 2020 . TMA BlueTech, San Diego, CA.

33. OECD. 200022. The Ocean: Ocean economy and innovation .

34. San Diego Industry Research

35. San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative & Center for the Blue Economy at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. 2019. Regional Economic Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise in San Diego .

36. San Diego Food System Alliance. 2022. Uprooting Segregation Through Our Food System.

37, 38. Wilken, Michael Alan. 2012. An ethnobotany fo Baja California's Kumeyaay Indians . San Diego State University.

39. San Diego Food System Alliance. 2022. Uprooting Segregation Through Our Food System.

40, 41. Baldassare, Mark, Dean Bonner, Rachel Lawler, and Deja Thomas. 2022. PPIC Statewide Survey, Californians and the Environment.

42. World Economic Forum, “ Nature risk rising: Why the crisis engulfing nature matters for business and the economy ” (2019).

43, Kousky, Carolyn. 2022. Insurance-sector tools to combat biodiversity loss . Science 377(6607): 714-716.

44. Mission Bay Wetlands Restoration

45. Port of San Diego Wetland Mitigation Bank at Pond 20

46. SANDAG. 2020. Regional Transportation Infrastructure Sea Level Rise Assessment and Adaptation Guidance .

Maps

All map data was sourced through public datasets in ArcGIS Online unless otherwise specified.

Littoral cell shapefiles: California State Lands Commission. Littoral Cells

Redlining map: Robert K. Nelson, LaDale Winling, Richard Marciano, Nathan Connolly, et al., “Mapping Inequality,” American Panorama, ed. Robert K. Nelson and Edward L. Ayers.

Heat Vulnerability Index shapefiles: Dialesandro, John, Meryl Kruskopf, M. Colin Marvin, Mireille Vargas (2021). San Diego Urban Development: Utilizing NASA Earth Observations to Identify Drivers of Extreme Urban Heat and Generate a High-Resolution Vulnerability Index for Urban Planning and Climate Resiliency in San Diego, California. Develop Technical Report.

Sea Level Rise map: NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer

Cal EnviroScreen map: The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (2021). Cal EnviroScreen 4.0.

Indigenous Land map: Native Land Digital