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Restoring Lands - Coordinating Science, Politics and Action pp 85–107Cite as

Social and Cultural Incentives and Obstacles to Adaptation to Increased Coastal Flooding in East Boston, MA USA

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Abstract

East Boston, Massachusetts is a coastal community in the northeastern USA that faces a growing threat from coastal storm surge flooding due to rising sea levels. Due to its relatively low income levels, large number of recent immigrants, and current environmental stresses, it is also a community suffering from environmental injustice. As complicated as adaptation to climate change may be, it is even more complicated when looking at the particularly complex situation of environmental justice. In this community it is found that the community did not have an adaptation perspective or knowledge of any resources that could assist them in this challenge. The residents also seem to have little power over the management of their community with the result that adaptation decisions may be made by processes, institutions and individuals from outside the community. All adaptation options have some disincentives for them; with high costs being common to all. Their cultural knowledge also limits their viewpoints on alternatives. Participants believe they need more information on climate change, how it will impact them, and what resources are available to assist them. Incentives for adaptation include a very broad ranging, accepting view of climate change impacts, commitment to their communities, eagerness to continue learning about climate change, and recognition that there is the need for an integrated regional flood management planning process that is stakeholder driven.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by a grant from the NOAA Sectoral Applications Research Program (SARP; NAO08OAR4310722). We gratefully acknowledge the dedication of the other members of our team: Brenda Cotto-Escalera of NOAH for her tireless leadership in the East Boston community; Chris Watson, for his mapping expertise and all around helpfulness; Megan Rising, Laura Kuhl and Jeff Cegan of Tufts University for their help with interviews and evacuation research; Jack Wiggin of the Urban Harbors Institute for his assistance and for his links with state and local government; Matt Schultz of Wood Hole Group, Inc., Scott Goodwin and Matthias Ruth of the University of Maryland College Park and all the East Boston residents who attended our workshops.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Battelle Memorial Institute, One Cranberry Hill, Lexington, MA, 02421, USA

    Paul H. Kirshen

  2. Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA

    Paul H. Kirshen

  3. Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA, 02125, USA

    Ellen M. Douglas

  4. Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, 1111 Woods Hall, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Michael Paolisso & Ashley Enrici

Authors
  1. Paul H. Kirshen
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  2. Ellen M. Douglas
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  3. Michael Paolisso
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  4. Ashley Enrici
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul H. Kirshen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of New Hampshire, Durham, New, Trapelo Road, Lincoln, 01773, USA

    Herman A. Karl

  2. Resources for the Future, Washington, DC, S. Lincoln St 830, Arlington, 22204, Virginia, USA

    Lynn Scarlett

  3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, C, Chestnut Hill Av 163#306, Brighton, 02135, Massachusetts, USA

    Juan Carlos Vargas-Moreno

  4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, C, Cambridge, 21039, Massachusetts, USA

    Michael Flaxman

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Kirshen, P.H., Douglas, E.M., Paolisso, M., Enrici, A. (2012). Social and Cultural Incentives and Obstacles to Adaptation to Increased Coastal Flooding in East Boston, MA USA. In: Karl, H., Scarlett, L., Vargas-Moreno, J., Flaxman, M. (eds) Restoring Lands - Coordinating Science, Politics and Action. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2549-2_5

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