MANAGED RETREATProactively Planning for Community Relocation Before and After Climate Disasters
Between 1980 and mid-2023, 232 billion-dollar disasters occurred in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, with the number of disasters doubling annually since 2018. As the frequency, intensity, and destructiveness of climate change-driven disasters increase, accompanied by an increase in recovery costs, more experts are calling for a managed retreat of entire communities from disaster-prone areas to safer ground.
Federal agencies such as FEMA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and state and local agencies should proactively plan for community relocation due to environmental risk, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. For successful relocation, community input should drive the planning process, and policies at the federal, state, and local levels should focus on prioritizing well-being and the establishment of equitable decision-making processes.
Between 1980 and mid-2023, 232 billion-dollar disasters occurred in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, with the number of disasters doubling annually since 2018. The variety and frequency of storms have exacerbated historic inequalities and led to cycles of displacement and chronic stress in communities. As disaster recovery costs escalate, state and local governments cannot keep up, while federal recovery programs fall short of state requests for assistance. The new National Academies report focuses on the Gulf Coast region and examines how people and infrastructure relocate and how policies and processes need to support Gulf Coast communities in relocation. The committee that wrote the report believes its conclusions and recommendations are also applicable to other regions of the U.S.
Despite environmental threats, the majority of Gulf Coast populations have increased steadily for 50 years. Communities may be reluctant to relocate because of their unique economic, social, and cultural attachments to a place, and often lack the necessary resources even if they want to relocate. Community relocation from environmentally high-risk areas, often referred to as “managed retreat,” requires significant planning, including the social and financial support needed for relocation, management of the spaces left behind, and adequate infrastructure and services in communities receiving those who have been displaced.
While federal agencies have some funding and capacity to help communities resettle under existing programs and policies, there is currently no interagency coordination for community-driven relocation planning at the scale needed with the high level of risk in the Gulf region. Moreover, existing programs are difficult for households and communities to navigate.
