Post-Katrina Resilience Planning on Mississippi Coast

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• How the Sea Grant's involvement in coastal resilience in Mississippi — including technical assistance to aid communities involved in the Community Ratings System — is bolstering efforts to promote coastal-restoration practices
• Specific examples from the Mississippi Gulf Coast where community planning and urban-design tactics helped prepare the coast to better withstand coastal flooding and hurricanes
• Tools tools that support existing resilience initiatives and help planners get a better grasp on coastal challenges such as sea-level rise, flooding, and land loss

MORE SESSION DETAILS

Gain insight into how Mississippi Gulf Coast communities have embraced resilience and green-infrastructure techniques in their ongoing planning efforts. The economic and social devastation that resulted from Hurricane Katrina prompted a critical examination of the full range of responses available to local communities to protect themselves against sudden, natural calamity. Learn how Sea Grant’s aid and technical assistance has helped strengthen connections to national programs such as the Community Ratings System and helped bring emerging standards for environmental sustainability to the fore. The presentation will also highlight regional tools and grants that have been instrumental in putting resilience planning on a surer footing on Mississippi’s coast. The director of the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio will discuss how a restoration project in the city of Biloxi, Mississippi, helped underscore the importance of environmental mitigation to rebuilding and recovery. Participants will also hear from Biloxi’s floodplain manager on how the city is coordinating with these existing resilience efforts to create a surer foundation for continued city action on resilience initiatives such as living shorelines and hazard-mitigation planning.