ABSTRACT
Franks Tract is a large and shallow tidal lake in the heart of California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. It is a state park that is highly vulnerable to a broad range of climate change impacts and mired in ecological and socio-political conflicts. The Franks Tract Futures planning and design project exemplifies a new, multi-benefit adaptation approach for the Delta region and beyond. Its co-design process skillfully integrates public participatory mapping, workshops and surveys, scenario planning, structured decision making, hydrodynamic modeling, and the application of leading-edge science and engineering knowledge within a transdisciplinary design–research framework. A year-long effort produced comprehensive landscape design schemes to attenuate rising tidal salinity intrusion into the Delta, create new and improved habitat for threatened and endangered fish species, provide world class recreational opportunities, and bring new opportunities and vitality to a lagging local economy. The project demonstrates the value of integrative, co-design processes for landscape-based adaptation and for building adaptive capacity through collective learning in complex and vulnerable landscapes.
