W3 Seminar – Coastal Resilience by Design: Nature-Based Solutions Across Scales

Details

Speaker:
Jules Bruck, Ph.D., Director, School of Landscape Architecture and Planning; Chair and Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture, UF

Abstract:
Coastal systems are dynamic socio-ecological landscapes shaped by the interactions of land, ocean, atmosphere, and human activity. They provide essential services—storm buffering, habitat support, carbon storage, recreation, and cultural identity—yet remain highly vulnerable to disturbance. Traditional shoreline hardening severs ecological processes, reduces habitat, and undermines long-term resilience. Nature-based solutions (NBS), by contrast, offer multi-benefit strategies that provide natural buffering, ecological function, and consider community well-being. Our work examines how NBS can be applied across a range of contexts. This talk presents three case studies that illustrate how landscape architects are advancing coastal resilience through design at multiple scales.
At the regional scale, we modeled wetland loss and carbon storage at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), a large military installation on Chesapeake Bay. Using historical land-cover data and carbon valuation tools, we quantified projected wetland decline and associated carbon losses under sea-level rise scenarios. Results highlight the economic and climate significance of wetlands, providing a cost–benefit rationale for conservation and restoration investments.

At the community scale, the Coastal Resilience Design Studio (CRDS) partnered with the small fishing town of Bowers Beach, Delaware. Through immersive fieldwork, stakeholder interviews, research, and design, students developed a Bowers Resilience Plan, identifying locally grounded strategies to enhance community resilience. One particularly impactful recommendation—using dredged silt to help restore marsh habitat—was taken up by the mayor, who secured $3 million in Army Corps funding for implementation. The Resilience Plan received national recognition in both planning and landscape architecture, and the case study exemplifies a repeatable, catalytic approach grounded in participatory and interdisciplinary design.

At the shoreline scale, an interdisciplinary project team is testing oyster-based living shoreline prototypes in the Delaware Bay through an Army Corps-funded project. These efforts focus on evaluating materials and monitoring shellfish, fish, and vegetated habitats in medium- and low-energy systems, while also incorporating community values and priorities to inform more extensive future applications. The aim is to move beyond the shoreline as a narrow linear boundary and instead frame it as a transect that extends into communities. This broader perspective positions living shorelines as integrated strategies for habitat restoration, water quality improvement, and social adaptation.

Together, these studies demonstrate how landscape architecture is integrating with scientists and engineers to contribute across scales to advance coastal adaptation. By embedding systems thinking into design practice, this work highlights the role of NBS in sustaining ecological processes and supporting the resilience efforts of coastal communities.