The Coastal Resilience (CoRe) Lab is dedicated to promoting positive transformation in coastal communities impacted by climate change and sea-level rise by improving how the urban form interacts with its natural context. Through research, community engagement, facilitation of dialogue, collaboration with expert partners, conceptualization of practical solutions, and the dissemination of insights through publications, we explore and develop innovative tools and solutions as well as empower coastal communities with the knowledge and resources needed to enhance their resilience and thrive. 

 Image credit: Gabriella Feito

1. Develop Proactive, Place-based Solutions: Interdisciplinary research leading to the timely identification, understanding, and communication of potential challenges and opportunities, providing communities with the place-specific tools and information needed to prepare and adapt.

2. Research and Documentation: Conduct rigorous research and ensure our findings are published in reputable journals and books, contributing to the global body of knowledge on coastal climate resilience.

Collaborative Innovation

CoRe Lab fosters productive partnerships with a diverse range of stakeholders, including government agencies, academia, non-profits, and the private sector, to co-create innovative solutions that are locally-attuned, practical, and scalable while integrated and multi-faceted.

Community Engagement

CoRe Lab prioritizes maintaining continuous and transparent dialogue with community members as they provide valuable insights into their respective neighborhoods and the intersecting aspects of their urban terroir. This input guides our various efforts, ensuring that their viewpoints, first-hand experiences, and issues are central to our initiatives. Our method incorporates a mix of technology, nature-based solutions, architectural and urban design traditions and advancements, and community involvement to create customized coastal resilience strategies that address the unique requirements of each locality.

Dialogue Spaces

CoRe Lab facilitates thoughtful dialogue spaces centered around the most relevant issues in climate adaptation and community resilience, allowing differing perspectives to come together in sincere learning to identify new and equitable solutions or gain appreciation for different viewpoints.

Education and Advocacy

CoRe Lab promotes climate resilience awareness through educational programs, toolkits, and public outreach, fostering a culture of proactive adaptation and stewardship.

Through our integrated ‘urban terroir’ lens and multifaceted approach, the CoRe Lab combines research and community involvement with technology, nature-based solutions, and building innovations to shape comprehensive coastal resilience tailored to local contexts. The CoRe Lab strives to be a driving force in empowering coastal communities to navigate the challenges of climate change and sea-level rise. Our goal is to empower these communities to achieve long-term resilience and prosperity.

We envision a redefined urban resilience that overcomes the limitations of traditional 20th-century urban planning, and embraces a new approach that enhances community resilience against climate-related shocks. Utilizing our multidisciplinary, hyper-local 'urban terroir' strategy, we aim to redesign urban spaces to strengthen their ecological and social networks. We connect coastal historic communities, their preservation efforts and how these intersect or contrast with resilience needs, through an approach that addresses this intersection. Ultimately, we envision thriving coastal communities that are well-prepared to face both socio-economic and environmental challenges, making them models of resilient urbanism. 

Underlying the ‘urban terroir’ approach is the understanding that cities are shaped by a distinct set of environmental, cultural, social, and economic conditions that give them their unique character and identity, and interventions and plans for urban development must draw upon and enhance this existing ‘terroir’. 

Lab Director – Sonia Chao, Associate Dean of Research and Research Professor

For any inquiries, please write to coastalresilience@miami.edu.

The CoRe Lab website will be housed at coastalresilience.miami.edu and is under development.