National Coastal Population Report
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Material Information

Title:
National Coastal Population Report Population Trends from 1970 to 2020
Creator:
Crossett, Kristen
Publisher:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Publication Date:
Language:
English

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Climate change ( lcsh )
Coastal management ( lcsh )
Shorelines ( lcsh )
Sea level rise ( lcsh )

Notes

Abstract:
Our nation’s bountiful coastal resources have influenced American history and culture, and have drawn a substantial portion of our country’s population to the coast. The concentration of people and economic activity at the coast places pressures on ecologically sensitive coastal ecosystems and also leaves residents and visitors vulnerable to coastal hazards, such as hurricanes, erosion, and sea level rise. One focus of this management challenge is to understand who lives at the coast and how this population is changing. However, this is not a simple matter as federal agencies, researchers, and non-governmental organizations define “the coast” in various ways. To increase consistency in how we describe our nation’s coastal population, this report presents the nation’s coastal population in two different lights. One is the population that lives in Coastal Watershed Counties, or those counties where a substantial portion of their land area intersect coastal watersheds, and consequently represent where land use changes and water quality impacts most directly impact coastal ecosystems. NOAA has historically reported population for Coastal Watershed Counties, and continues this framework in this report. For the first time, NOAA also presents the population that lives in a subset of Coastal Watershed Counties, the Coastal Shoreline Counties, or those counties directly adjacent to the open ocean, major estuaries, and the Great Lakes. The Coastal Shoreline Counties, due to their proximity to these waters, bear the most direct effects of coastal hazards and host the majority of economic production associated with coastal and ocean resources. ( English )

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Rights Management:
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