University of Michigan Coastal Resilience Research Project
From early 2021 through spring 2022, the Cities Initiative and NOAA Office for Coastal Management served as co-clients to a research project completed by masters students at the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). The six students took a deep dive into understanding the current landscape of Great Lakes coastal resources and assistance and we are now excited to share their recent findings which were released in May 2022.
The students conducted a series of 56 interviews and focus groups with municipalities and resource providers across the basin, including many of our Cities Initiative members. Their efforts resulted in a library comprising 1,000+ coastal resources with a separate library consisting of 100+ relevant funding opportunities. The plethora of knowledge gathered by these students also resulted in a suite of recommendations, as outlined in their final report, that target a variety of stakeholders including the Cities Initiative, NOAA, other coastal partners, and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence municipalities. The team’s findings will provide a valuable foundation for the future refinement of coastal resilience resources and support available to municipalities across the basin.
For more information on the project findings and outputs, we encourage you to explore the following resources: