Date of Award

2021

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Marine Affairs

Department

Marine Affairs

First Advisor

Austin Becker

Abstract

Academics and practitioners advocate climate change resilience assessments to guide seaport management, planning, and capital improvements. Yet, questions remain regarding how resilience assessments actually influence planning cultures and result in better prepared seaport organizations. Through 10 case studies of U.S. seaport resilience assessments, this research identifies key benefits and challenges associated with executing resilience assessments, resilience building actions that seaports pursue after completing a resilience assessment, and how resilience assessments enhance seaport adaptive capacity. Results suggest that resilience assessment processes enhanced, inter alia, seaports’ social capital with their internal and external stakeholders, and that seaports frequently identified and pursued infrastructure-related resilience enhancement strategies after completing an assessment. Further, while key informants emphasize new networks and collaborations following their assessments as benefits, they also frequently cited them as key challenges in the assessment process. Additional takeaways captured in this research provide valuable insights that can inform guidance materials designed to help seaports undertake their resilience endeavors.

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