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The Design and Implementation of Managed Retreat: Policy Lessons from the United States
Professor Gavin Smith, (Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, North Carolina State University, U.S.A)
When: Thursday 14 September, 12:40PM – 2:00PM
Where: GBLT1, Old Government Building, Pipitea Campus, Victoria University of Wellington or
online: https://vuw.zoom.us/j/98333011858
Climate change will have significant economic, social, and environmental impacts over the coming century and beyond, including more powerful storms and accelerating sea level rise. Both globally and locally, substantial numbers of people will face an increasing risk of serious flooding and inundation. Managed retreat – or planned relocation – as it is variously called, will be inevitable. In the U.S. there have been over 50,000 property buyouts since the 1980s. But few have been well planned and in most cases they have been undertaken only after federal disaster has been declared. This has contributed to suboptimal outcomes, including checkerboarding, increased socio-economic inequality, and poor use of the resulting open space.
Professor Smith is an expert in the design, implementation, and regeneration of managed retreat sites in the U.S. He has advised state governors following Hurricanes Fran, Floyd, and Katrina. During Hurricanes Fran and Floyd, he led teams responsible for the acquisition and elevation of more than 5,000 and 500 homes respectively. In addition, he led a large team of faculty, graduate students, and practitioners to assist six hard-hit low-capacity communities following Hurricane Matthew in 2014. This included identifying multiple uses for land acquired through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, conducting land suitability analyses to identify locations suitable for the construction of replacement housing outside the floodplain but within the boundaries of towns participating in the buyout, assessing possible flood-proofing techniques for historic downtowns, creating architectural renderings of replacement housing, and developing disaster recovery plans.
Previous research has included a comparative assessment of hazard-prone housing acquisition programmes in the U.S. and New Zealand, in conjunction with Dr Wendy Saunders at Tokā Tū Ake EQC. Professor Smith is back in New Zealand to continue his research into lessons from our local experience of managed retreat. This will help inform a White House Committee that is developing national guidance for an emerging national programme on managed retreat in the U.S.
Professor Smith currently serves on a National Academy of Science committee focused on assessing managed retreat strategies in Gulf Coast states and serves as an author of the 5th U.S. National Climate Assessment, focused on the South-Eastern U.S. |
