ABSTRACT
The United States faces a myriad of coastal use and management issues resulting from a clash of public and private interests. The intense development permitted along large stretches of its coastlines intensifies competing demands. In the future, the threats posed by global climate change (GCC) will put large areas at an increased risk of coastal flooding, as painfully demonstrated, once again, by Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. Twenty million people along the US coastlines are at risk of inundation if climate change continues unabated (Strauss, et al., 2015). Coastal management is complex in the United States, as there is no overall federal coastal management policy. Instead, management of the country's coastal zones is fragmented across all three levels of government – federal, state, and local – often with conflicting ideologies in play. In addition, the country's strong protection for private property rights plays a significant role in the story of coastal protection. This chapter provides an overview of the issues, policy, and legislation related to coastal zone management, drawing on examples from all three levels of government.
