Community Resilience

From inland to shore facing communities of Gulf coastal watersheds, our group focuses on transdisciplinary approaches to strengthen community resilience, which we define as the ability of a system to absorb and bounce-forward from adverse shocks and stressors. The “system” includes societal pillars - socio-cultural, economic, environmental, infrastructure and governance - and their key subcomponents. Our research advances understanding of how those components interact to influence resilience and whether resilience is being built equitably.

We implement deep engagement methods with community agents to identify trade-offs and co-produce solutions grounded in local knowledge and socioeconomic and biophysical science assessment. A cornerstone of our program focuses locally in the Texas Coastal Bend, where we’ve joined with the Coastal Bend Council of Governments (COG) in advancing the Regional Resilience Partnership.

Together, we can address the complex challenges brought by human and environmental change; we can co-create locally tailored, science driven strategies to reduce risk; and we can ensure the beauty and bounty of our coastal future.