Understanding why and where decision-makers choose to use different climate change adaptation strategies remains an important theoretical and practical question for coastal adaptation. This article provides an exploratory statistical analysis of three adaptation measures (shoreline armoring, property acquisitions, and beach nourishment) and their deployment with respect to metrics of risk exposure, socioeconomic markers, and critical infrastructure in North Carolina (U.S.). This exploratory analysis evaluates two propositions. First, adaptation measures are deployed relative to specific metrics of risk. Second, adaptation choice disproportionately correlates with socioeconomic attributes. The findings support both propositions and reveal that shoreline armoring correlates with higher home values, household incomes, and population density and low racial diversity. Property acquisitions are found to correlate with low home values, household incomes, and population density and high racial diversity. Furthermore, adaptation measures are interconnected. Acquisitions are more likely to occur in areas with low levels of armoring. Beach nourishment occurs exclusively in areas with shoreline armoring. The results find no correlation of adaptation deployment with critical infrastructure. This article provides the foundation for future research into how adaptation decisions are made and trade-offs among adaptation actions considered, whether decisions adequately protect critical infrastructure, and how deployment patterns affect social equity.
Siders, AR; Keenan, JM
Variables shaping coastal adaptation decisions to armor, nourish, and retreat in North Carolina
Ocean & Coastal Management