Blue and Green Infrastructure for Port Saint Joe

Today, Sea Level Rise is one of the biggest threats facing the state of Florida. While Florida has many large coastal cities with large budgets that frequently make headlines on their threats of Sea Level Rise, many smaller communities face the same risks. In October of 2018, the destruction caused by Hurricane Michael opened many questions into the resilience of these smaller communities. This project gathers information from case studies of cities addressing the issue of Resilience through Blue and Green Infrastructure changes, and how those solutions can impact the area of Port St. Joe. This type of infrastructure can help smaller towns grow smarter and stronger in the face of both long-term and acute shocks.

1. Personal Background
2. Research Question
3. Methodology
4. Study Area
5. Case Studies
6. Targeted locations
7. Sustainability
8. Geodesign
9. Conclusion

• For my Capstone, I wanted to see the impact of storms on the built environment and how we can protect specifically coastal communities from the multiple threats that they face.
• I was introduced to this class which was going to a small city on the Panhandle called Port St. Joe, which was impacted by Hurricane Michael in 2018.
• I signed up for the class, which consisted of multiple lectures over 3 weeks, culminating in a spring break trip to the city

How can a small town like use examples from larger cities on the use of Green and Blue infrastructure to improve their resilience?

Bottom line: Sea Level Rise and Hurricanes do not discriminate between big and small cities

Look for examples and non-examples of infrastructure and development

Connect Port St. Joe to cities that face similar threats, see what projects they have to improve their resilience

Identify how Geodesign principles can help address these issues

Study Area: Port Saint Joe, Florida

History: The History of Port Saint Joe is actually integral to the history of the State of Florida. The Constitutional Convention was held in this city in December of 1838. The St. Joseph constitution became law on March 3, 1845.

St. Joe's economy was dominated by the St. Joe company, who manufactured paper. The town was centered around the paper mill. However in 2003, the paper mill shut down. The St. Joe company transitioned into a real estate company, then sold a majority of their land to the Mormon Church. The town has yet to recover economically ever since.

Population: 3,424

Population Density: 362 people/sq.mi

Median Income: $41,673

Major Industries: Fishing, Tourism

The culture of Port Saint Joe is more than what meets the eye. The area is rooted deep in tradition, with over 35 churches in the area It has a strong history of blue collar work and skills. It also has an outdoors-man culture of fishing and hunting . Its athletic nature is reflected in the multitude of program and facilities that run sports programs. Additionally, High school sports bring out a significant amount of people in the town. As the are grows this heritage in sports can be highlighted

Opportunities: Port Saint Joe is on the verge of re-planting their blue collar roots. This work can be temporary due to reasons like lack of housing for workers, and a lack of access to resources makes people wanting to stay less likely. If St. Joe begins to grow as an environmentally conscious blue collar town, it can mean an influx of businesses from all types of industries. This will allow the city to stick to their roots while also growing properly into the 21st century.

Port Saint Joe has been gifted with a beautiful and productive bay. As one of the only saltwater bays in the gulf this must be protected in order to ensure the survival of the special wildlife that inhabit it. The city has an extensive green park network and storm drain facilities, so preserving those is key to sustainable growth in the future.

Opportunities: Bolstering the Blue and Green infrastructure can minimize the negative impacts that development will have on the Bay. The Bay must be protected, and it is far too difficult to do this actively. Creating Blue and Green infrastructure allows for passive methods to be implemented to protect this priceless resource.

After the loss of the paper mill, Port Saint Joe has not had a true opportunity to recover. The town suffers from serious brain drain, and a lack of housing for even basic labor, which are the jobs they are trying to attract. Currently, their main source of income comes from tourists who come to the area to fish. This is unfortunately limited and a seasonal way to earn income. The city needs a more sustainable source of income from inside.

Opportunities: Creating these structures and designs in a way that allows for them to be improved in the future. Gives many people something to do in the town so talent doesn't leave, so you mitigate brain drain. It also gives tourists reasons to explore the town for longer, and spend more money. In addition, if these become more popular, they can increase tourism and support the town's small businesses. This can be used to revitalize the downtown, and possibly even create a mainstreet program.

Having cleaner water and more greenspace allows gives people more places to commune, host events, and get out of the house. These activities allow for a strong community network to form. Greenspace has been used, in this city, to fight against segregation in the past and that implementation has been successful.

Opportunities: New parks that are revitalized can allow for both sides to interact freely, instead of just on a few yearly festivals. Connecting North and South Port Saint Joe to create "One Port Saint Joe" would have lasting impacts on the newer generation.

• Geodesign can be used to identify where and how solutions can be implemented
• It can also be used to give impact analyses, as the large cities have
• Suitability analysis on optimal locations for these solutions
• Further impact analyses can be created, to project development decisions and how that can effect the city's storm resilience
• Sea Level Rise must be accounted for in design, so that can be modeled for the city as well

When speaking to many of the locals of Port Saint Joe, while it was clear they had been through a traumatic experience on the community level. In spite of this, the people seemed more determined than ever to change their town for the better. Their optimism inspired me when creating this presentation. The fact that they saw opportunity, even amidst some of their town still in disrepair, was admirable

The residents were right, Port Saint Joe is filled with opportunity to successfully be a working city while also being a green city. What's special about this place, is that the community drive has already worked in the past. Free from much of the competition and private interests that plague large cities like Houston and Los Angeles, the people of Port Saint Joe have a unique way to create change in their own community, as they have in the past.

Grassroots organization is vital to sustainable development. Previously, Port Saint Joe already has many successful grassroots stories. The people are determined to make their city a better place, and have actually already used Green infrastructure to do so. Interestingly, I believe large cities can learn from this city about the effectiveness of grassroots organization when it comes to improving city infrastructure.