The Gulf Coast and particularly South Louisiana have faced unprecedented consequences of climate change, weather extremes, and technological disaster – through hurricanes, un-named storms, storm surge, erosion/land loss, flooding, and oil spills – over recent decades. Coastal Louisianians and those living along the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge southward have been forced to prepare, to develop novel survival strategies, and to learn how to become more resilient communities, in order to thrive in the face of such monumental adversity.
This project has partnered with representatives of diverse sectors, vulnerable populations, and academicians in South Louisiana and nationally to rigorously document, develop, and test refinements of existing community resilience tools, strategies, and resources to the benefit of communities and populations threatened by climate change, severe weather, and environmental disasters. Importantly, this project also builds an enduring community resilience learning collaborative to network communities across South Louisiana, the Gulf Coast, and the country who are committed to developing, bolstering, and sharing science- based and practice-relevant community resilience tools, strategies, and resources, thereby enhancing community-to community learning, supports, and capacities for community resilience and well-being among vulnerable populations nationwide moving forward.