More to explore within the Cape Cod Coastal Planner

There’s more to explore within the Cape Cod Coastal Planner, a decision-support tool that helps users understand the climate change hazards impacting Cape Cod’s coastline and some of the adaptation strategies available to address them.

A new data layer showing the Cape’s low-lying roadways is among the upgrades, along with the inclusion of storm tide pathways data that shows how coastal waters may flow inland during storm surge, extreme high tides, or sea level rise.

Along with several existing strategies, users can now select managed relocation and retrofitting assets to better understand the potential impact in their community. Managed relocation involves removing existing development and infrastructure away from threatened coastal areas. Retrofitting assets includes floodproofing roads or structures through elevation or other methods that do not require relocation.

Additionally, the tool’s outputs have been upgraded to indicate the mileage of roadway and the number of historic structures impacted.

The Cape Cod Coastal Planner has a wide variety of users, including teachers. Dr. Briana Brown, an environmental science and marine biology teacher at Brookline High School, uses the Coastal Planner in the classroom. "We use the planner tool to teach about the trade-offs that coastal communities face when adapting to the impacts of climate change. Teams of students explore the predicted impacts of sea level rise on coastal communities and use the tool to propose strategies for the community to implement while factoring in variables such as budget, constituent needs, and critical facility placement."

The Cape Cod Coastal Planner provides a comprehensive platform that illustrates climate-related issues in the region and offers a way to visualize the impact of a range of solutions.

Explore the updated Cape Cod Coastal Planner: www.capecodcoast.org