Investing in Natural and Nature-Based Infrastructure: Building Better Along Our Coasts

Ariana E. Sutton-Grier, Rachel K. Gittman, Katie K. Arkema, Richard O. Bennett, Jeff Benoit, Seth Blitch, Kelly A. Burks-Copes, Allison Colden, Alyssa Dausman, Bryan M. DeAngelis, A. Randall Hughes, Steven B. Scyphers and Jonathan H. Grabowski
Additional contact information
Ariana E. Sutton-Grier: The Nature Conservancy, MD/DC Chapter, 425 Barlow Place, Suite 100A, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
Rachel K. Gittman: Department of Biology and Institute for Coastal Science & Policy, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
Katie K. Arkema: Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, C/O School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Box 352100, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Richard O. Bennett: United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035, USA
Jeff Benoit: Restore America’s Estuaries, 2300 Clarendon Blvd, #603, Arlington, VA 22201, USA
Seth Blitch: The Nature Conservancy, 721 Government St., Suite 200, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, USA
Kelly A. Burks-Copes: United States Army Corps of Engineers Regional Planning & Environmental Center, Southwestern Division, 2000 Fort Point Road, Galveston, TX 77550, USA
Allison Colden: Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 6 Herndon Ave., Annapolis, MD 21403, USA
Alyssa Dausman: The Water Institute of the Gulf, One American Place, 301 N. Main Street, Suite 2000, Baton Rouge, LA 70825, USA
Bryan M. DeAngelis: The Nature Conservancy, URI Bay Campus, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA
A. Randall Hughes: Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Marine Science Center, Nahant, MA 01908, USA
Steven B. Scyphers: Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Marine Science Center, Nahant, MA 01908, USA
Jonathan H. Grabowski: Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Marine Science Center, Nahant, MA 01908, USA

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 2, 1-11

Abstract: Much of the United States’ critical infrastructure is either aging or requires significant repair, leaving U.S. communities and the economy vulnerable. Outdated and dilapidated infrastructure places coastal communities, in particular, at risk from the increasingly frequent and intense coastal storm events and rising sea levels. Therefore, investments in coastal infrastructure are urgently needed to ensure community safety and prosperity; however, these investments should not jeopardize the ecosystems and natural resources that underlie economic wealth and human well-being. Over the past 50 years, efforts have been made to integrate built infrastructure with natural landscape features, often termed “green” infrastructure, in order to sustain and restore valuable ecosystem functions and services. For example, significant advances have been made in implementing green infrastructure approaches for stormwater management, wastewater treatment, and drinking water conservation and delivery. However, the implementation of natural and nature-based infrastructure (NNBI) aimed at flood prevention and coastal erosion protection is lagging. There is an opportunity now, as the U.S. government reacts to the recent, unprecedented flooding and hurricane damage and considers greater infrastructure investments, to incorporate NNBI into coastal infrastructure projects. Doing so will increase resilience and provide critical services to local communities in a cost-effective manner and thereby help to sustain a growing economy.

Keywords: coastal resilience; restoration; sustainability; infrastructure; ecosystem services (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/2/523/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/2/523/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:2:p:523-:d:132028

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().