Gulf Coast: Institute for Sustainable Communities

The Gulf Coast was far from recovered from the devastating impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita when the storms of 2008 (Gustav and Ike) hit, further reinforcing the critical need to help communities become stronger and more resilient. At the same time, the scale of redevelopment already underway in the region creates a window of opportunity for communities to embrace practices that will help them become more resource efficient, healthy and livable. As the region continues to confront complex rebuilding challenges and the threat of severe storms in the future, there is also a growing awareness of the Gulf Coast’s economic and environmental significance to the rest of the US and an increasing sense of urgency around the need to advance an agenda for coastal conservation and sustainable development.