Coastal resilience: How communities can adapt to rising tides and stronger storms

“We’re seeing coastal processes cross thresholds that are starting to affect homes, businesses and critical infrastructure.” – Brett Vivyan

Coastal communities are facing growing pressure from rising seas, stronger storms and infrastructure never designed for the conditions now emerging.

The challenge is no longer whether communities should adapt, but how they make smarter decisions about what to protect, where to invest and how to build resilience before disaster strikes.

In this episode, Brett Vivyan joins Ben Hall, Global Thought Leadership Manager at GHD, to explores why waiting for catastrophic events is no longer defensible, how nature-based and hybrid solutions are reshaping coastal protection and why multi-benefit infrastructure is becoming essential to unlock funding and community support.

• Coastal risks are multiplying, with flooding, erosion and infrastructure failures becoming more frequent
• Waiting for disasters to act is becoming harder to justify economically and socially
• Multi-benefit projects combining resilience, habitat restoration and community value are easier to fund and support
• Nature-based and hybrid solutions are shifting coastal protection from “holding the line” to working with dynamic landscapes

Explore the related Nexus weekly column: How can coastal communities bounce back from rising tides?