Economic Impacts of Sea Level Rise in Hampton Roads

Recently, more than 50 local, state, federal, university and philanthropic partners gathered at ODU’s Virginia Analysis, Modeling and Simulation Analysis Center to discuss the economic impacts of sea level rise in Hampton Roads.

Many coinciding projects are ongoing in the area, and bringing leading minds together allowed for collaboration, said Ann Phillips, chair of the Infrastructure Working Group of the Hampton Roads Intergovernmental Pilot Project. The meeting was co-hosted by the infrastructure group and the Pilot’s Economic Advisory Committee, of which Dr. Larry ‘Chip’ Filer, associate professor of economics, is chair.

“Reviewing this work collaboratively presented an excellent opportunity to bring together cities, municipalities and agencies doing related studies, to understand the scope of their work, and to learn where there may be opportunities to share information, data, and analysis for current and future efforts to understand and prepare for the impacts of sea level rise in and on the Hampton Roads region,” said Phillips.

Topics included reports and overviews of ongoing work by the U.S. Department of Transportation in Hampton Roads; studies on economic impact and potential consequences of failure to adapt to sea level rise in Hampton Roads; Joint Land Use Studies from the Navy and Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, and many others.

Although the Hampton Roads Intergovernmental Pilot Project will wrap up its two-year run on June 30, work is ongoing and collaborations for moving forward are underway.

Ray Toll, director of coastal resilience research at ODU, said, “As the whole of government/community effort has focused on an integrated regional planning process to mitigate and adapt with a focus on both national security and economic impacts, this meeting represented a key starting point on the latter.  We must continue to work this new process with both in mind. “

A LINK TO THE PRESENTATIONS GIVEN CAN BE FOUND AT BOX.COM.