Adaptation of Florida’s Urban Infrastructure to Climate Change

This chapter looks at how the impacts of climate change affect different parts of Florida. With more than 1500 miles of coastline that contains numerus differences in character between the state’s southern-most point in the Florida Keys to the northwest Florida Panhandle and northeast Florida in Jacksonville, it is easy to see why areas across the state are not all the same; temperature, rainfall rates, and even the potential for sea level rise can vary significantly depending on what part of the state one is in. For example, southeast Florida and the Tampa Bay area are already dealing with sea level rise issues, but there is much work to be done in order to assess the risks and help identify potential solutions. Efforts to adapt to rising seas will need to draw upon prior research and current work to develop tool box strategies that involve the hard and soft components. A background of impacts to water resources (less rainfall has been detected) will be discussed.