This research project’s purpose is to design and test coastal adaptation strategies focused on the integration and mutual interaction of natural processes and built infrastructure. Climate changes due to the persistent increase of global greenhouse gas emissions will dramatically affect precipitation, sea levels, storm intensification, ecosystem health, and other environmental systems. Of particular concern are sea-level rise and the intensification of coastal storms threatening roughly 10% of the global population living in low relief coastal zones. (McGranahan, Balk, & Anderson, 2007).
This project will review the Pequonnock River watershed and coastal environment of Bridgeport, CT to develop and analyze adaptation strategies that rebuild the environmental and ecological capacities of a coastal, urbanized ecosystem. The core principle underlying this effort is the restoration and augmentation of natural processes with hard civil infrastructure. Conceptually, the proposal argues that soft and hard measures can be hybridized to increase the resilience of Bridgeport’s infrastructure.