Urban Ocean Lab

That's a wrap on National Ocean Month, and UOL has been busy! A few of our highlights: 1. 🤝 We co-hosted Upwell: A Wave of Ocean Justice with Center for American Progress and Azul, where Ayana Elizabeth Johnson moderated a panel on climate-driven relocation. Watch a recording of the conversation: https://lnkd.in/eSkHjg3i 2. 🗣 We joined Sea Change, a podcast produced by WWNO New Orleans Public Radio and WRKF Baton Rouge Public Radio, to discuss the importance of climate-ready coastal cities. Listen to the episode: https://lnkd.in/eUvpQB4M 3. 👩💻 We launched our resource hub, an open-access tool with hundreds of resources to support climate adaptation in coastal cities. Explore the hub: https://lnkd.in/dBmaz6GR 4. ✍ Our Policy Director, Alexandra (Ali) C., contributed to "Turning the Tide: Biden Administration Leadership on Ocean Climate Action & Recommended Next Steps", in collaboration with 60+ environmental organizations and ocean advocacy groups. Read the report: https://lnkd.in/eagzjQyh

📻 Our Program Director Sheetal Shah joined the latest episode of Sea Change, the Edward R. Murrow Award-winning podcast produced by WWNO New Orleans Public Radio and WRKF Baton Rouge Public Radio, to chat about UOL's mission: creating climate-ready coastal cities. Check out the episode to hear how leaders around the world—from Mobile, Alabama to Lagos, Nigeria—are preparing their cities for a climate-changed future: https://lnkd.in/erEY9m8z

Adapting to climate impacts in coastal cities requires excellent policy grounded in reliable data. Right now, coastal cities across the country are facing information deficits: More than half of U.S. coastal communities underestimate sea level rise, and many cities aren’t using the latest science in their risk assessments. To help close this knowledge gap, we’re launching an open-access resource hub stacked with vetted content from trusted sources. Featuring everything from case studies and datasets, to example legislation and policy memos, the hub is packed with critical information to support policymakers and other practitioners working towards more resilient coastal cities. Resources will be updated and added regularly, so if your organization creates work that supports climate-ready coastal cities, please email info@urbanoceanlab.org with a link to your publication, and we’ll see if it’s a fit! Explore hundreds of resources at https://lnkd.in/dBmaz6GR.

📢 Upwell: A Wave of Ocean Justice if officially underway! Tune in to hear directly from leaders paving the way to a more just, equitable, and inclusive future for our coastal communities. Follow along on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eET9Mkgh

✍ Today, we're publishing a new policy memo to support proactive, justice-centered climate-driven relocation in U.S. coastal cities. In the face of worsening climate impacts like sea level rise, erosion, and storm surge, the intentional movement of people away from climate-vulnerable areas to more resilient neighborhoods will be necessary to provide lasting safety for coastal residents. By leveraging federal resources and working directly with impacted communities, coastal cities have an opportunity to shape an equitable and innovative national framework for climate-driven relocation. The principles and recommendations in our memo will help ensure the wellbeing of communities who will need to leave the floodplain in the decades to come. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/dpgbmD9u

🌊 Join us for Upwell: A Wave of Ocean Justice! 🌊 Experts from across the country are converging on DC for #Upwell2024 to talk about #OceanJustice & you don’t want to miss it! Upwell is an intentionally created space that prioritizes the experiences and voices of experts from historically marginalized communities in ocean conservation. This all-day event will feature expert panel discussions, a plenary speaker, networking opportunities, and much more! The event will be held in-person in Washington D.C. and will also be streamed live. 🌅 Save the date: https://lnkd.in/gHXpcTyQ Hosted by Azul, Center for American Progress, and Urban Ocean Lab. Supported by Earthjustice, Green 2.0, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the Ocean Defense Initiative, and made possible with the support of generous funders. 🦀 Missed the event last year? You can watch a recap here: https://lnkd.in/gZm5k7_2

UOL analyst Alex Miller is joining Urban Design Forum on April 10th for a discussion on how New York City can advance more equitable adaptation strategies for communities in the floodplain. Learn more below! ⤵️

We’re continuing our series on regenerative ocean farming with two case studies that show our policy recommendations in action ✍ 🌊 🌱 Our first case study looks at Deer Island Aquaculture Park in Biloxi, Mississippi, which was established to support workforce development and revitalize the local oyster industry. Our second discusses seafood purchasing programs in New England that help increase demand for fresh, locally farmed seafood. Read our case studies here: https://lnkd.in/eF45BzP5 For additional information on regenerative ocean farming, make sure to check out the recommendations in our policy memo (https://lnkd.in/db5nYvC3) and keep an eye out for upcoming resources on how policymakers can protect and rebuild working waterfronts in U.S. coastal cities.

Headed to The Economist World Ocean Summit this week? Our Policy Director Alexandra (Ali) C. will be joining Lonely Whale for a discussion about policy solutions to help responsibly scale the seaweed industry! And check out our policy memo for more information about how policymakers can advance regenerative ocean farming in the US: https://lnkd.in/db5nYvC3

"There are solutions at every geographic scale...From a city block to a whole city.” Atmospheric rivers are beginning to hit the west coast this week, and the need for coastal cities to accelerate adaptation and resilience efforts has never been more clear. Our co-founder Ayana Elizabeth Johnson spoke with The New York Times about our Climate Readiness Framework for Coastal Cities, and how coastal cities can act now to implement solutions. Check it out ⤵ https://lnkd.in/dWAQArHH