The Adoption of Hazard Mitigation and Climate Change Adaptation Policies, Programs, and Actions by Local Jurisdictions along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts

It is becoming increasingly clear that a key step in addressing natural hazard risk reduction, whether considering hazard mitigation or climate change adaptation, is the adoption and implementation of policies, programs, and action to address these issues by local jurisdictions. Unfortunately, it has been over three decades since research has been undertaken on the adoption of these kinds of strategies employing a large multi-state sample of jurisdictions in the United States. This chapter reviews the variety of policies, programs, and actions that can be adopted and employed by local jurisdictions to address hazard mitigation and climate change adaptation. The results of a survey on the adoption of these strategies by a large sample of coastal counties and municipalities in Gulf and Atlantic coastal states are then presented. Comparisons with the last survey of similar jurisdictions along with factors shaping adoption …