EVOLUTION OF COASTAL HAZARDS POLICIES IN THE UNITED-STATES

The ocean and Great Lakes coasts of the United States are experiencing widespread economic and environmental damage from coastal flooding an d erosion. During this century, public response to such coastal hazard s has evolved haphazardly in response to particular disasters. Over ti me, however, the range of response has broadened as research has helpe d to refine public understanding of physical coastal processes, and sp ecific disasters have been studied before longer term forms of institu tional response have been formulated. Earlier reliance on engineered s horeline protection has been supplemented by beach nourishment, flood insurance, building and land use regulations, coastal zone planning, a nd other approaches. This article interprets the evolution of such pub lic policy innovations in terms of a model that depicts the interactio n of spatially differentiated systems of physical, legal, and cultural phenomena in the coastal context.